Submitted by Gregory L. Alderete.
Local primaries and elections are upon us. Candidates and civic-minded volunteers are going door to door, at local farmers’ markets, and placing campaign signs within the voting districts. Each one of those signs cost the candidate about five dollars. When you steal one, you are stealing from the candidate and those who donated to support their campaign. These local campaigns are run on a tight limited budget where every dollar counts. Candidate Elizabeth Grasher has had 20 signs stolen, each must be replaced out of campaign donations. Make no mistake this is not a political issue it is a crime.
Those responsible should not be surprised, when caught, they are in violation of Washington State Law RCW 9A. 20.021. “A person who removes or defaces lawfully placed political advertising including yard signs or billboards without authorization is guilty of a punishable misdemeanor. The defacement or removal of each item constitutes a separate violation.” A conviction can result in serious penalties including fines and/or jail time. Being charged with any crime, including a misdemeanor, can negatively affect your life.
Aside from the cost and inconvenience, stealing signs undermines democracy and freedom of speech. As a professional therapist, Elizabeth Grasher works with veterans and active duty service members at JBLM. Those who took an oath to support and defend the constitution and the protection of free speech.
If you witness any suspicious activity involving this type of crime, please report it to your police department.
As a candidate for Clover Park School District, Position 3 (Jeff Brown), I appreciate this article!! Thank you.
are Incumbants’ campaign signs going to be up now until November? Talk about urban blight…… isn’t there a rule that states they must be down for a while?
Per W.A.C., “After primary elections, temporary political campaign signs endorsing a successful candidate may remain up to ten days after the succeeding general election.”.
The City of Lakewood may have a more stringent code.
Yes thank you! Last election the Oban campaign had their signs slashed so they could not be reused. Taking down is one thing but destroying in such a fashion is another. So sad that people stoop to such levels and sadder yet to see those campaigns win.
Have you not noticed theft is no longer a crime. You can walk into any store here and walk out (not even run). Employees may film you on their smartphone but will not stop you. Security will just watch and ask you to please not steal.
Stealing or removing signs of a competitor is not only illegal, it’s unethical. It is also incumbent on all candidates to promptly remove all signs when the campaign is over, and to ask permission before posting signs, especially on private property. I know rights-of-way are fair game, but even then a courtesy ask would be nice. My father lives on a relatively visible corner and come election season it often has several signs, admittedly in the right-of-way. Rarely does someone ask before posting, and about a week after the election, my dad has to toss a couple of the signs that don’t get picked up.
Generally, I agree with the letter and comments above. Criminals should keep their hands off other people’s property/signs. But, there are issues related to the sign issue that should be considered.
(1) Interestingly, it is against the law/ordinance for anyone to place signs in the public right-of-way in some jurisdictions, such as Lakewood. But, of course, those who make the rules/laws typically carve out an exception for themselves. We can’t. They can. What about our free speech rights?
Thus it is against the law for anyone, except the rule-makers/politicians, to post signs in the public right-of-way.
The law is the law. Thus, while this self-serving law smells and creates visual blight and trash in the right-of-way, that fact does not give criminals the right to steal or damage campaign signs.
(2) The smelly law does include some provisions for when the signs can be posted and when they must be removed. Yet, some of those running for political positions fail to comply, causing their signs to be posted when the law says they should not be in sight. An easy solution is called consequences. A stiff fine for each sign in violation will go a long way towards solving the problem.
(3) My next point relates to some political candidates who lack any level of social intelligence and courtesy.
While the law allows politicians to place their signs in the public right-of-way, I have a problem when signs are placed on improved/parklike portions of the public right-of-way.
Examples include the landscaped islands at Gravelly Lake Drive SW and 112th Street SW. Another example is Gravelly Lake Drive SW and Bridgeport Way SW.
Paid staff, financial contributors, and volunteers have donated time and money to develop and maintain these beautification projects to make Lakewood a better place. But, unfortunately, politicians make a predictable and concerted effort to ugly-up the parklike islands.
Politicians who clearly demonstrate a lack of brain power as evidenced by their placing signs in landscaped areas which creates visual blight, accident potential for city staff, along with making it impossible for the mowing crews to mow the lawns, must not have enough brain power to hold the office they seek.
(4) I well understand politicians are forced to play the sign game. Anyone wishing to be elected is pressured to play the sign game. No signs can easily mean a lost election.
That is too bad. The politicians should get together and agree to an even playing field of no signs, thereby eliminating sign competition, visual blight and garbage in the right-of-way.
A no sign agreement will improve the city’s appearance and eliminate what amounts to a grade school tactic used to run for office. Signs are an infantile method of generating name familiarity, which in no way is an intelligent qualification for winning a political office in the first place.
(5) Many voters vote based on the candidate with the most or the snazziest signs, equating with the most robust name familiarity.
For anyone voting based on signage produced name familiarity, please know your voting decision-making process is flawed.
If you wish to cast an intelligent vote, ignore signs and instead research the candidates, their records, and their positions related to the issues at hand. Attend candidate forums to see and hear for yourself what each candidate stands for.
Joseph Boyle
Back in 1996 someone placed this kind of a sign in my yard. It doesn’t matter if I was to vote for this person or the other three people I did not appreciate them putting these signs in my yard. I guess you can come arrest me because I took them down and through them away !!! .
For the record, I have 62 signs all placed with permission in yards and another 48 residents on the waiting list soon as I can get to them.
So far.
If you are reading this and would like a sign from David Anderson or Jeff Brown for your yard, you can reach David at Electdavidanderson.com.
“stealing signs undermines democracy”….. what undermines democracy is when government does NOT honor the will of the voters, as in the $30 car tabs initiative that had a clear majority, yet the government blocked it. Shame on the legislature and Governor for not following tbrough on the will of the voters. Why even bother to vote when the government does this?
Greg Alderete thank you for your continued support. With assistance from volunteers we placed campaign signs in yards (only at home owner request) and public areas in Steilacoom. We also documented locations of the signs. In less then a week over 27 signs went missing. I personally contacted the town and signs were not taken due to location, etc. I routinely communicate with the town about location of signs, etc. It is my hope moving forward that signs will be respected regardless of campaign/candidate.
During a recent local election, my neighbor removed a sign that I placed on my property because a) it wasn’t the candidate she supported and b) she could see the sign from her window. When I placed it back up, she came out if her house and started screaming at me about the signage. I did mention that it was against the law to remove the sign, at which she scoffed, we will see about that. Aftermath, 1) after a few phone calls to gain sympathy for her position, she again contacted me, this time with an apology, saying she was wrong. 2) her candidate lost 3) she unfortunately died. Was it worth it?
I think we have to work as a community to support one another. ❤️ I am very sorry to hear about this situation between neighbors.
Then why is it not a crime when these signs block traffic views at street corners?
Why is not a crime like littering when the losers leave their signs along the road like trash?
Update. The individual accused of removing the sign was filmed in the process of committing the crime. He has since been interviewed by the Steilacoom Police Department and the statements and photographic evidence have been submitted to the District Attorney. More to follow as the information becomes available.