photo by: Eric Ayres

WHEELING — The owner of the post office box number used on recent Wheeling municipal political mailers — without his knowledge or permission — is now putting his name out there. And he’s challenging the person who produced those mailers to do the same.

Lou Smith of Wheeling thanked The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register for alerting him “to the theft of my post office box, which I’ve had since 2007.”

His post office box number has been used on the mailers, which target those seeking Wheeling mayoral and city council offices in Tuesday’s election. The mailers also do not contain the required disclaimer notice noting who paid for the ad.

Research by the newspaper late last week about the post office box number revealed it belonged to Smith — who is a retired sales employee for Wheeling Newspapers.

He noted he is in no way associated with the mailers or involved with any candidates on the election ballot.

“No, I will not be changing it,” Smith said of the post office box number. “I will meet any threats with the appropriate amount of attention, but I have been dragged into the illegal mailer situation that has plagued Wheeling over the past week.”

Every candidate on every ballot “deserves our respect and admiration” for stepping up to run for office and improve the community, he continued.

Smith also drew upon his own background in sales and marketing to assess the mailer.

“To put out the amount of professional material — knowing the planning and expense (involved) — this was planned months ago, yet timed days before the election,” Smith said.

He is challenging the producers to identify themselves today, the day before Election Day.

“If they do not, they are cowards … in my humble opinion,” Smith continued. “They should identify themselves before the election — not after. There are investigations that will find that out, but you should do it before the election if you have any dignity or honor.

“Our voting system is sound. Our voting system is honest. It is run by honest people and monitored by the Secretary of State. The rules are there for good reason.”

He asked voters to ignore the illegal mailers, and he has concerns that artificial intelligence skills could be used to influence future elections.

“We as citizens should be grateful for those candidates’ participation in our free democratic process,” Smith continued. “There are appropriate forums for debate to allow voters to choose their candidates.

“Until last week, the mayoral candidates made us proud as Election Day approached. Then a blitzkrieg happened – a premeditated, well-funded, illegal (by Secretary of State standards) campaign stole my P.O. box, and proceeded to take Wheeling politics to a new low.”

After he was contacted by the newspaper late last week, Smith immediately went to check his post office box and found it stuffed with mailers marked “return to sender.” He has filed complaints with the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Inspector, and has contacted the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and his own legal counsel.

Smith reports that as of Sunday he has not heard back from any of the agencies.

“Moving forward … we can do much better,” he added. “These negative ads do not work on us West Virignians. We should be regarded as strong, intelligent Mountaineers – not an audience for jokes.

“We also are as resilient as the waters that flood us. In the long run, you (the producer of the mailers) will be exposed for what you are. The common man will not be intimidated or afraid.”

Smith also thanked past and present city councils and city staff for their work, and he especially called out the professionalism of Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron. Herron also has been targeted in the mailers.

“He has proven to me not only to be professional, but one of the best we’ve ever had,” he continued.

The initial attack ads appeared to be targeting most of the six candidates in the Wheeling mayoral race either through the content on the mailers or in online videos to which QR codes on the mailers provide links.

The confusing nature of the attacks make it unclear which candidate – if any – is actually being supported by the mailers.

All six mayoral candidates vehemently denied any connection to the mailers.

A follow-up batch of mailers also targeted incumbent candidates running for re-election to ward council seats in the city.

The QR codes on some of the flyers link to a YouTube page by Common Sense Wheeling.

Delegate Diana Winzenreid, R-Ohio, has registered a formal complaint about the mailers with the Secretary of State’s Office.

A disclaimer notice must contain the full name of the individual, group, political committee, corporation, or labor organization that paid for the communication, along with any abbreviated name it uses to identify itself.

The disclaimer notice must also provide the payor’s permanent street address, telephone number, or website address and must further state that the communication was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, the state’s chief elections officer, explained last week that because those disclaimers are nowhere to be found on the mailers they are illegal.

Warner added his investigators should be able to figure out who sent the mailers, even though the necessary identifying information isn’t on them.

Staff Writer Eric Ayres also contributed to this report.