Elmwood Township Board trustee James S. O'Rourke must resign his post following his acceptance of a job with the federal government's Department of Homeland Security.

At its meeting Tuesday night, O’Rourke announced he would be resigning as trustee effective March 31 since he will be begin working at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City as a screener for the department’s Transportation Security Administration. Under the Hatch Act of 1993, federal employees may not hold a partisan political office. O’Rourke said he learned of the requirement during training for the position at O’Hare Airport in Chicago last month.

"This is a really hard decision for me because I really do enjoy being a trustee," he said. O’Rourke said he was holding out a slim hope that he may be able to stay on the Elmwood board, but when asked for comment after the meeting he said he was not optimistic.

"I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to stay on as trustee," he said.

The Hatch Act provision only applies to his position as an elected official. O’Rourke said he will be able to stay in his appointed position as a member of the township Zoning Board of Appeals, and would like to stay on the appointed Public Safety Committee as well.

He retired after over 30 years with the county Sheriff’s Department in January. O’Rourke said he was looking forward to retirement, but the reality of not having a job to go to every day was more severe than he thought.

"That first day I didn’t have to be to work, I panicked. My heart was beating real fast, my blood pressure was up, I just didn’t know what to do," said the 57-year-old man.

He said he knew he had to find another job after looking at retirees sitting around the table at his coffee spot.

"I’d go for coffee in the morning and each of these guys had their own cup. They’d sit around and talk about the medical ailments and I thought, ‘I’m too young for this,’" he said.

Fellow township board members said they will miss O’Rourke. "It’s been a pleasure serving with you," said clerk Connie Preston.

O’Rourke said he is going to try out this new job and see if he likes it. "If it doesn’t work out, you can bet you’ll find me going door to door in the rain running for county commissioner," he said.