PAC in West Virginia rural race has ties to school at center of grant controversy

A super PAC distributing attack mailers against a candidate in the rural 17th House District appears to have had financial ties to a Catholic college in Ohio in the recent past. 

In recent weeks, residents in Mason and Jackson counties have received mailers attacking Kat Weiland, a Democrat challenging Republican incumbent Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason. But who is behind takes a little bit of digging — and reveals a surprising financial relationship with a Catholic college that was embroiled in a court battle last year. 

Weiland said when she ran for office, she didn’t anticipate seeing the type of attacks typically reserved for a high-profile race. 

“Never in my life did I dream that I would go to the post office, open my mailbox and pull out not one, not two, not three, but four fliers and see my face on a political attack mailer,” she said. 

The fliers, depicting Weiland in black and white photos, warn voters that her platform would cost them taxpayer money. 

“More government. A bigger bill for tax payers,” reads one ad. “West Virginia can’t afford Kat Weiland’s agenda.” 

The proposals at issue are universal pre-kindergarten for three-year-olds, childcare subsidies and raising the minimum wage. 

In the corner of the mailer, next to the pre-sorted stamp and above the recipient address, reads “Paid for by Conservative Policy Action.” 

That committee also ran mailers during the Republican primary, mainly in support of state lawmakers who had drawn the ire of the governor, such as Del. Scot Heckert, R-Wood, Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier and Del. Jeff Stephens, R-Marshall. 

But in the general election, the PAC has only spent money in the Weiland-Pinson race, which so far has amounted to around $14,000. 

Conservative Action Policy is registered as a super PAC, also known as an independent expenditure committee. They can raise unlimited amounts of money and can spend donations  in support or against candidates in a race. However, they cannot directly contribute to a campaign, nor can they coordinate with a candidate running for office. 

Most of the funding for the PAC has come from a political non-profit called Conservative Policy Solutions Inc., which is led by Matthew Parker, a political consultant from West Virginia who now lives in Oklahoma, according to Federal Election Commission records. 

As a 501(c)4, Conservative Policy Solutions Inc. can donate to political causes. Typically, this type of arrangement is what’s known as “dark money” in politics, money that is used to influence elections but can’t be traced. 

That’s because a non-profit, unlike a political committee, isn’t required to publicly disclose its donors. 

But in this case, IRS records shed a bit of light as to where some funding for Conservative Policy Solutions Inc as to its funding sources in the recent past. 

Tax records in 2024 show Conservative Policy Solutions Inc. raised around $500,000 in revenue, just a year after it was incorporated in Delaware. 

That same year, The Center for the Common Good Foundation gave Conservative Policy Solutions Inc $477,000. 

For the readers with a long memory, that’s the conservative think-tank the College of St. Joseph the Worker tried to set up with a portion of the $5 million it received from the West Virginia Water Development Authority in December 2024. 

The College of St. Joseph the Worker is located in Steubenville, Ohio, just across the river from Weirton in the Northern Panhandle. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia filed suit against the use of taxpayer money for a religious school outside the state and a Kanawha County judge ruled that the school had to change aspects of its plans to avoid violating the separation between church and state. 

The College of St. Joseph the Worker, Conservative Policy Solutions Inc., and Conservative Policy Action PAC did not respond to a request for comment. 

Del. Jonathan Pinson, R-Mason, offered the following statement regarding the mailers: 

“Each year, outside organizations become involved in races statewide. State law allows these organizations to express their views. However, they do not represent me or my campaign, nor do they influence my decisions. I can only speak for my own campaign, my record and my positions on the issues that matter to our community.” 

Weiland said the mailers could possibly backfire. 

“Some of those things seem kind of good,” she said. “We’re talking about childcare. It’s just an idea of having universal 3K. We already have universal pre-K for four-year-olds in West Virginia, which is wonderful. Why not possibly allow universal 3K in West Virginia? If we can send kids to school a year earlier, that’s another year earlier the parents can get back into the workforce.”