Police investigating election sign vandalism

By Kate Shumakova

Some Belleville candidates running in the municipal election are complaining about vandalism, theft and damage of their signs.

Mayoral candidate Lonnie Herrington posted a complaint on Facebook, saying some of his signs were stolen from the corner of Bell Boulevard and North Park Street last weekend.  He wrote he later found them at the back of a property stashed behind some plywood and scraps. Herrington said he also found signs for candidates Steven Georgiou and Kelly McCaw.

Mitch Panciuk, a candidate for council, said that he thinks some of the signs were removed because they were on private property without the owner’s permission. He reported on his Twitter account Monday that his sign was also damaged during the weekend.

An officer from the Belleville police service, who refused to provide his name, confirmed that the Belleville police received some calls from candidates reporting missed and damaged signs.

“People can order the signs from different candidates, and once it’s on someone’s property, it’s a private property, and another candidate can’t remove it. If the sign is put up, even if it’s on public property, it should not be removed by anyone except for the person, who put it there. It can be consider as vandalism and mischief,” the officer said.

The police officer said he is personally investigating one case of a damaged sign that was placed on public space.