Hilton Head mayoral candidate’s mailer causes buzz. She says she may consider legal action
Hilton Head Island mayoral candidate JoAnn Orischak was accused of violating federal mailing laws this weekend, and although the accusation later was retracted, she said damage may have been done to her campaign and she may consider legal action.
The claim stemmed from over 4,000 campaign mailers Orischak distributed through the USPS’ “every door direct mailing” system.
When the materials appeared in mailboxes throughout Hilton Head Plantation, the neighborhood’s general manager and Beaufort County school board candidate, Peter Kristian, received complaints from residents that the mail didn’t have any postage or say who paid to mail them. They questioned whether the mailers could be breaking federal law.
Kristian sent a mass email to Plantation residents Friday referencing the potential “violation of federal law,” and that others had informed the post office of the mailers. The email didn’t mention Orischak by name.
“We didn’t believe it warranted naming anyone, just bringing it to folks’ attention,” Kristian said. “The cards in question did not have a post mark on it, or any indication it had went through the United States Postal Service. … There was nothing like that on the item that was placed in the mailboxes.”
When she learned of the email, Orischak provided a receipt showing she paid $847 for the “EDDM” mailing service. Kristian sent a follow-up email to Plantation residents Saturday clarifying the mailers were legally distributed.
“We have been made aware that the materials delivered to resident mailboxes were, in fact, paid for and delivered by the U.S. Postal Service,” the email read. “This delivery was appropriate as the proper fee was paid to the U.S. Postal Service. It was unfortunate that the materials did not have any type of postmark from the postal service. However, the candidate followed the rules.”
Mailing mix-up
Postal officials said Orischak was not at fault, and an error was made in the mailing process.
USPS spokeswoman Debra Fetterly confirmed materials sent through EDDM must have a special indicia, provided on the USPS website. The mailers should have displayed postage indicating they’d been paid for, and by whom, but local Post Office employees who inspected Orischak’s mailers approved and distributed the material despite lacking the indicia.
Orischak said she wasn’t informed of the requirement when postal employees inspected the mailers at the North End Post Office, and none of them raised the issue during inspection.
‘Character assassination’?
With Orischak’s clarification and the retraction issued, Kristian said he considered the matter closed.
But Orischak said the fact that Kristian sent the email to plantation residents before asking her whether the mailers were sent legally constituted a “ready, fire, aim attack” on her campaign.
“Accusations of federal law violations are a serious matter. To publicly suggest a candidate participated in criminal activity (without proof) is the very definition of character assassination,” Orischak said.
Without an easy way to gauge whether the accusation might have hurt her campaign, Orischak said she’s consulted an attorney about whether legal action should be taken.
Orischak, a former Beaufort County School Board member, is running for mayor against two other candidates — Alan Perry and Michael Santomauro. Current Hilton Head Mayor John McCann is not running for reelection.
The election is next Tuesday, Nov. 8. Early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 5.
This story was originally published October 31, 2022 at 4:12 PM.
