www.roanoke.com

Joe Smith?

If anything, Brian Wishneff should be investigated for lack of originality -- but nothing else.

You may recall the eleventh hour, full-page smear job in The Roanoke Times against political newcomer Court Rosen just before the May 6 Roanoke City Council election. The ad claimed it was paid for by "Joe Smith, Citizens for Sensible Decisions."

A few days later, Wishneff 'fessed up to his involvement in the ad.

Apparently, he thought he could throw a rock and hide his hand. Days earlier, when a Roanoke Times ad sales rep said he needed a name on the ad, the best Wishneff could come up with was ... Joe Smith?

Now, three months later, the Virginia attorney general has given the green light for state police to investigate the campaign ad. Those state guys must not have much to do.

As an elected official, what Wishneff did was bush league. It's one thing to help attack an opponent. That's Politics 101. Making up a name to avoid detection is pretty telling, though.

Others may disagree, but I think going after him criminally is a waste of time and state resources.

In the end, the stunt didn't work. By a slim margin, Rosen won a seat on the council. Voters weary of Wishneff's divisive rhetoric and shenanigans kicked him out of office.

The bottom line is that every day, Virginians suffer violent crime and horrible rip-offs that truly are injurious.

State authorities have bigger things to do than spend their time going after an unpopular politician known principally for his venom.

At this point, it's unclear whether making up a name and putting it on a political ad is actually illegal, according to state elections officials.

But that doesn't mean the group Wishneff used as his conduit should be let off the hook.

The purported "Citizens for Sensible Decisions" isn't registered with the state as a political action committee. That's a big no-no, because state law requires groups that spend more than $200 on behalf of a candidate to file papers with their address, the name of a treasurer and other details with the State Board of Elections.

Campaign finance law also requires that PACs file reports listing contributors and expenses.

Without state oversight, Citizens for Sensible Decisions is operating outside the realm of transparency and accountability that the state requires and the public deserves. The group definitely deserves scrutiny.

But from where I sit, Wishneff didn't do anything illegal -- sleazy, perhaps, but apparently not illegal.

If that's true, let him slink off and stay out of the public eye and conversation.