Stolen/Vandalized Campaign Signs... is this typical in Washington?

[progressivebydesign]

I am becoming more and more upset each day as I drive around my town (near Tacoma) and see vandalized and missing Democratic candidate signs. I witnessed two old guys destroying signs late one night near my house, but they were gone when I realized what was happening and drove back by there. It's just disgusting and heartbreaking.

One candidate for a State positions is bearing the brunt of the thefts and vandalism. He's an awesome guy named Larry Seaquist. He's a veteran, and seems like a great candidate. He's running against a scary guy with scary supporters, apparently, as they're the ones ripping down his signs. The candidate he's running against, Ron Boehme, is in some type of religious organization. His writings, which he tried to take offline, included an essay on why Clinton is just like Hitler, and why Princess Diana's death didn't deserve the attention it got, because she was "an adulterer in God's eyes". He also dressed up like Jesus and dragged a giant cross through the downtown where he lives. He markets himself as mr. values, but his supporters are cheating by ripping down signs. Oddly enough, the last time this happened, it was with yet another religious hard core republican candidate who was rumoured to have piles of her opponents signs in someone's barn.

If I were an candidate, and if I didn't have anything to do with the thefts, I'd be pretty damn hurt that my supporters thought I was such a loser that I couldn't even win an election on my own merits.

I've never witnessed anything like this. Is this typical tactics up here? This is the second election here that I've been around, and the second time I've seen this vandalism and theft. It makes me ill.

[eridani]

1. It happens, but 2004 was probably worse.

It's mostly Repubs doing it, but I came home after swing shift intending to put up Cantwell signs on a main drag near my house, and someone have slashed out central "V" shapes from McGavick signs and those for a Repub state House seat who has no real chance in Seattle. The detritus made it obvious that these were Repub signs, and I am really pissed off because putting Cantwell signs in the same block now would be a lousy idea.

[TruthDetector]

9. re: It happens, but 2004 was probably worse

I don't think it is mostly republicans doing it. I think it depends on where you live as to who does it. Last year in Shoreline there was a huge amount of sign destruction against republicans. There is one house on the main drag that has signs for every republican candidate who not only had the signs destroyed but had a swastica painted on the side of the house with "Nazi" painted next to it.

I remember in 2004 when every time someone put up a 4 foot x 8 foot Bush sign on the Eastside you could be sure that within 24 hours it would be destroyed or vandalised.

Around the eastside I have seen isolated instances of Democrat signs being knocked down or stolen but when in nearly every case it happened right after someone destroyed all the republican signs.

There was a large McGavick sign in Bothell that someone spray painted "Facist" on and within the next 24 hours I noticed that every Cantwell sign within a large area near there was gone. I am sure whoever put that sign up was so mad at what happened that they took down Maria's signs. Frankly I don't blame them, i'd probably do the same thing.

One thing I suggest. If you see signs knocked down, put them back up, even if they are for the other side. It shows we take the high road and if enough people fight against this kind of behavior it will cut down on it happening a lot.

[pscot]

2. Used to happen occasionally

but it does seem to be getting worse. The Vandalism is the most disturbing aspect. Unfortunately it says a lot about who we've become.

[RobertSeattle]

3. I've seen lots of vandalism on Admiral Way in Seattle this year

But I think the signs are pretty much a waste of money anytway - I'd like to find that one voter who has actually changed their vote as a result of a highway sign...

[geniph]

4. I saw some in 2004 that really freaked me

In the 47th, we traditionally put out all the Democrats' signs pretty close together, so we'd put Pat Sullivan's and Geoff Simpson's signs together. Geoff's opponent, Steve Altick, is a religious zealot with some really scary glassy-eyed followers. I went out after the election to collect signs (I hate campaigns that leave their signs out after the election). In about 75% of the locations, the signs had been vandalized and replaced by Altick signs. Pat's signs were just knocked down, but whoever was placing the Altick signs REALLY didn't like Geoff - they'd torn Geoff's signs to tiny shreds and broken the stakes. Now, those signs are made fairly tough - it takes a fair amount of strength - or violent rage - to rend them to bits. It was really disturbing.

I don't blame Altick - he's a nonentity - but jeez, he had some scary supporters!

[progressivebydesign]

5. Here is an endorsement of the candidate that I spoke highly of.. Larry Seaquist!!

The News Tribune, which publishes in Tacoma, gave this strong endorsement of Larry Seaquist, the guy whose campaign signs are being stolen and vandalised by supporters of his opponent:

<<In the race for House Position 2, Republican Ron Boehme faces Democrat Larry Seaquist. Boehme, who heads the Port Orchard office of a Christian youth service organization, is about as far right as they come. His fringe personal beliefs - Boehme has written that Satan controls public schools and that America needs to be “spanked” - betray a dogmatic candidate who is ill-suited to represent a diverse district.
Seaquist, on the other hand, would be a prize catch. He is the former caption of the battleship USS Iowa, worked in the Pentagon and the office of the secretary of defense and went onto serve as a senior advisor the director-general of UNESCO, where he led peacebuilding efforts. Raised in Oregon and Idaho, he moved to Gig Harbor four years ago.>>

Printed on the Opinion page (B5) of the Tacoma New Tribune on Monday Oct. 23rd

[countryjake]

6. Anywhere there are homeless people, you're gonna lose signs.

Most of the ones I know wisely collect them for kindling. Seems a better use, actually...makes the parties good for something.

[progressivebydesign]

12. That wouldn't apply in my community.

It's a bedroom community with zero sign holders or people who build fires. So that wouldn't be it.. and I doubt the homeless would only use the democrats signs.

[ManiacJoe]

7. Off on a tangent...

Does anyone know where to find the rules/laws governing the signs and their placement?

[TruthDetector]

8. campaign sign wars

This isn't one sided.

All over the Eastside I see McGavick signs ripped up and thrown in ditches, bushes, streams, etc. It is so widespread that this can not be one person, it has to be a co-ordinated effort.

There was even a story out before the primary about the slashing of every Republican Candidate sign in the North Kirkland area. These signs were left up there, just a stake and an inch or two left, all the way till the primary. Someone even posted a sign that said "Democrats hate your right to free speech" planted right in the middle of a long stretch of these signs. I've seen the pictures of the damage, it was embarrasing.

What upsets me is that you don't see the party leadership coming out against this kind of destruction. I would like to see a joint statement from the Dwight Pelz and Diane Tebelious denouncing these tactics.

The campaigns should be about issues, not about silencing the other side, and frankly I think that it does more harm to the party that does it then it does to the party who is the victim.

[Howardx]

10. thanks for playing today

n/t

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

11. (!) I did notice

signs with an exclamation mark missing down Holman road and eighth aveune down Ballard -Freemont -Greenwood way (!)I also noticed Cantwell signs were straightened up,or so it seemed !

The weather is also getting colder.

I would imagine at the very least seventeen hundred some odd people that would be moreso understanding to the need of heat right about now.

I wonder how hot those stakes get!

[progressivebydesign]

13. No republican signs are harmed in my area....

they're all safe and reproducing like bunnies. Perhaps that's happening on the Eastside.. but not anything i've seen around here.