There are many things that mask your ability to speak the truth both inside and outside of politics. There are various restrictions on civil service employees, pressures from patronage employees, and the interest of advancing your own political career. You don't want to create too much of a splash that will upset people at your agency and you don't want to irk civil service rules.

One of the most prominent areas of restriction on political activity are those formally prohibited through ethics rules promulgated by civil service and a very broad ban of political activity by the Hatch Act. Both of these rules prohibit political activity at work, though the later prohibits running for elected office as a federal civil servant.

The Hatch Act clearly is designed to disenfranchise Democrats who are more likely to be working in government prior to running for office. Ethics rules in New York allow people below managerial positions to run and hold office, though they must be careful not to do thing that would pose a conflict of interest or significantly impact their official duties.

Beyond formal prohibitions, politics can be another reason for not running for office when working in civil service. In both the federal and state government, most employees ultimately look up to patronage people for their jobs and having good relationships means more promotion. With the federal and state governments being controlled by Republicans running for office may actually be bad for your own job prospects.

Ultimately though, politics might be the most limiting part of your right to politic. You want to do the right thing, but you know your opponents are constantly watching to see when you fall. People will always find personal flaws and try to nail to the wall with them, but if you have a vision you can overcome those weaknesses. The Hatch Act and civil service ethics are inconvenience, but if your serious about running you can always find another job.