Recently Jim Scholz, candidate for Clearlake City Council, went through my neighborhood putting political flyers directly into our mailboxes – without postage! He even went so far as to raise the outgoing mail flags!

This of course is very, very illegal. Had I been home, I certainly would have called the police (not that they would understand what to do).

It may not seem at first to be a big deal, but there are numerous places to put a flyer – on the fence, on a car or even directly on my door. But to put it in a mailbox without postage is tampering with the mail and subject to considerable fines as well as jail time!

Brian Foster lives in Clearlake, Calif.

Editor's note: U.S. Postal Service regulations state, “no part of a mail receptacle may be used to deliver any matter not bearing postage, including items or matter placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle. Any mailable matter not bearing postage and found as described above is subject to the same postage as would be paid if it were carried by mail.” The Clearlake Post Office also confirmed that use of a mailbox to deliver flyers such as is described in the letter above is not permitted.