OFF THE WIRE
Zack Harold
dailymail.com
Former Lincoln County Assessor and convicted felon Jerry Weaver is again running for public office.
Weaver, 62, of Hamlin, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to buy votes in 2005, landing him in federal prison for a year. He is now running for sheriff.
"I'm not proud of my past, but it's there. I can't change it. I made a mistake. I've apologized to the people of Lincoln County more than once," he said.
Weaver confessed to receiving money from then-county Circuit Clerk Greg Stowers to buy votes. He said he received $500 to $5,000 from Stowers in every election from 1990 to 2004.
He spent one year in a federal penitentiary in Ashland, Ky., and was on probation for three years following his release.
Weaver currently works as a real estate appraiser for Lincoln. This is his first run for public office since being convicted. He filed to enter the sheriff's race Jan. 9.
He said his administrative background would help him do a good job as sheriff, since the sheriff's department manages all county tax collections. He said he'd also try to crack down on rampant prescription drug abuse in the county.
Weaver may already be breaking state law, however.
According to the state Constitution, people "under conviction of treason, felony or bribery in an election" cannot run for public office.
Weaver can run still and even be elected sheriff, however, if no one challenges his candidacy in court.
Dave Nichols, elections manager for the Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, said neither Lincoln's county clerk nor the Secretary of State's office could remove Weaver from the ballot.
"Someone would have to file suit in Circuit Court," Nichols said.
And, though he is a convicted felon, Weaver could carry a firearm while on the job.
According to U.S. Code, felon gun restrictions don't apply to the "transportation, shipment, receipt, possession or importation" of guns or ammunition for use by the United States, any department or agency of the federal government, any state or any subdivision of a state.
U.S. District Attorney Booth Goodwin said that exception would likely apply if Weaver were elected sheriff.
"He wouldn't be able to possess a firearm at his home, but if he possesses it at the office or in his official capacity, this exception may apply," Goodwin said.
If the exception did not apply, Goodwin said the law could have interesting consequences on Lincoln's sheriff's department.
Goodwin said federal gun possession law also includes a "bodyguard statute," which prohibits any person employed by felon from carrying firearm. U.S. attorneys have previously used the statute to charge several members of the Pagan motorcycle gang with felony gun crimes.
If Weaver were elected sheriff, his deputies would be considered his employees and, therefore, could not carry weapons.
West Virginia law may still prevent Weaver from packing heat.
Article Seven of state code Chapter 61 says anyone "convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" cannot carry a firearm. Weaver faced five years in prison for his crime.
Violating the state gun law could result in a misdemeanor charge.
Weaver says he probably won't carry a gun if he is elected. He said being sheriff is a mostly administrative position, and that deputies handle law enforcement.
"Most of the sheriffs I know, they never carried a weapon. I don't think that's the biggest part of being sheriff, carrying a gun," he said. "You've got your road deputies to take care of traffic stops and stuff like that."
Weaver is currently the only sheriff's candidate in Lincoln County with prior experience in elected office. He was county assessor for 25 years before being convicted.
Term limit restrictions prevent current sheriff Jerry Bowman from running for re-election.
Jessie Mullins, 65, of Hamlin, is making his first-ever run for public office. He has served as a sheriff's auxiliary deputy for four years and is president of Lincoln's Crime Watch.
"I think we need something done about all the drug sales. I see all this stuff going on and don't have the authority to do anything about it," he said.
Mullins, a retired vocational school teacher for Kanawha County Schools, estimates 80 percent of crime in his county is drug-related.
Harold Ken Farley, 61, of Yawkey, was a Lincoln deputy sheriff from 1981 to 1985 but now works as a coal truck driver.
"I liked dealing with people; I liked helping people," he said. "I'd like to think I could make a difference in the county."
Farley said there's not enough law enforcement in the county.
"We need to get more deputies on the road," he said.
Rick Saul, 55, of Sumerco, is a retired Teamster.
"This is all new to me. Honestly, it's neighbors, family and friends (who) talked me into it. I decided to try it and see what happens," he said.
All the candidates are Democrats.
Mullins, Farley and Saul all declined to comment on Weaver's felony conviction.
Weaver said he doesn't think the conviction will hurt his chances in the sheriff's race.
"I think everyone is aware in Lincoln County," he said. "It's nothing that I've tried to hide, nothing I could hide if I wanted to. I paid my debt to society.
"I feel comfortable putting my fate in the hands of the voters of Lincoln County."
