As tensions rise heading toward Election Day on Nov. 5, some people are resorting to eye-rolling tactics to ensure their chosen candidates have the spotlight to themselves: sign stealing and defacing. The number of candidates’ campaign signs disappearing from yards and small strips of public land is up this year, according to both Democratic and Republican parties.
A scan of national news coverage shows it’s much the same across the United States, with candidate signage being stolen or vandalized. Political sportsmanship is taking a back seat this election year.
Washoe Democrats said campaign signs have been disappearing throughout the election cycle, especially those promoting the Harris-Walz ticket and Sen. Jacky Rosen. Some northern Nevada Democrats who’ve placed Harris-Walz campaign signs in their front yards have had them disappear within hours of being staked into the ground. A car drives up, a person hops out then the signs are taken, they said.
Assembly member Selena La Rue Hatch, the incumbent candidate for Assembly District 25, said she had one constituent report she’d gone through eight Harris-Walz signs within two weeks. La Rue Hatch said she’s had at least 10 of her own campaign signs disappear without a trace.
“We’ve heard calls to the Washoe Dems that this is happening, and it’s just concerning,” La Rue Hatch said. “I haven’t seen Republican signs taken down at the same level.”
“Some people support a candidate and they are being told ‘You are not welcome here.’”
Dawn Cooper, secretary for Washoe County Republicans, said signs for their party’s candidates have also disappeared.
“We have received many calls reporting that Republican candidate signs have been vandalized, and have even been removed and replaced with Harris-Walz signs, throughout Washoe County,” Cooper said.
Both parties said they condemn the stealing, vandalizing or removal of campaign signage, regardless of party. Democratic candidates are specifically instructed not to touch signs for other candidates, especially those in the opposing party.
All candidates must follow local sign ordinances, which vary among Reno, Sparks, state land and Washoe County, but rules generally require signs to be out of the public right of way, away from polling locations and not obstructing the path of vision for drivers.
Sometimes NDOT or local code enforcement officers will remove signs that are illegally placed and hold them for 30 days so candidates can come pick them up and place them in a different location. Other times, a Washoe County memo notes, well-intentioned citizens who know the sign ordinances will remove the signs themselves. On private property, owners can remove signs they didn’t approve or place there themselves.
Often, unless the signs are being held by code enforcement, there’s no way to tell why the signs were removed—or if they were just stolen and thrown in the trash. Catching people deliberately removing or defacing signs is more difficult.
Political tensions lead to a misunderstanding
Within the past week, tensions over disappearing and damaged signs increased as reports circled that someone was selectively removing signs from what appeared to be a vacant lot. This Is Reno investigated the report and found it to be confusion over a property boundary.
Two women were driving to Whole Foods in south Reno on Friday afternoon when they saw a person removing campaign signs from an undeveloped area at the corner of Kietzke Lane and Sierra Rose Drive. They thought it was suspicious to see “two people just dumping tons of election signs into their car,” so they followed them to see what they’d do with the signs.
The car pulled up to a dumpster at the rear of Sierra Marketplace, a large strip mall at the corner of Moana Lane and South Virginia Street. The woman who had removed the signs said she worked for the owner of the property and was removing them at the request of the owner.
A video of the interaction shows a woman and a man removing from the car two armfuls of campaign signs—mostly Harris-Walz signs, but a few Republican candidates’ signs mixed in—and throwing them in the dumpster.
After dumping the signs, the woman then got back in her car, drove around to an office in the strip mall—one that housed the shopping center’s business office—that happened to be next door to the Washoe County Republicans headquarters office.
To the two friends, it appeared someone associated with the local GOP party was removing Democrats’ signs and throwing them away. They called the police thinking this was, at minimum, theft.
When police arrived, however, they said the signs had been on private property.
A search of public records shows the vacant parcel of land where the signs had been placed is owned by a partnership including several members of the Farahi family, including Ben Farahi. The Farahi family also owns Sierra Marketplace, the strip mall where the woman disposed of the signs. Ben Farahi confirmed that he had requested his employee to remove the signs because they’d been placed on the lot without permission.
Based on the parcel lines shown on the county’s GIS map, it appears there’s a strip of undesignated land between the Farahi lot and Kietzke Lane. But that’s not the case. More accurate parcel maps recorded by the Washoe County Assessor’s Office show the property extends all the way to the street, meaning that dozens of political signs were placed on the Farahi property without the owner’s consent.
While the situation was frustrating for all of those involved, Farahi said he hopes the story can be used to educate candidates and their supporters on checking property ownership before posting their signs.
Local candidates frustrated
While the federal races have been more heavily victimized by the sign disappearances, local candidates have also had signs go missing or been defaced. A sign for school board candidate Perry Rosenstein was vandalized with anti-semitic graffiti early in the campaign season. Alexis Hill has had her signs vandalized as well. La Rue Hatch said it’s hard to say how many of her campaign signs have disappeared due to theft versus being removed for other reasons.
“I think it’s gotten significantly worse,” La Rue Hatch said. “I’ve never touched my opponents’ signs and nobody took my signs last time, so it definitely has gotten worse.”
The sign removals are costly as well. Some of the larger campaign signs could cost anywhere from $600 to $1,000 each, which La Rue Hatch said is a “much more significant cost to bear as a teacher running a grassroots campaign.” While signs are just one way candidates get the word out about themselves, she said it’s a hardship for a small local campaign to have their signs stolen.
Some constituents haven’t even put out signs in their yards for fear of getting harassed. La Rue Hatch said one person reported having their tires slashed within 48 hours of posting Harris-Walz campaign signs in their front yard.
She said that despite the cost and frustration, it’s not the disappearing signs that have her down. It’s the message that’s being sent in the community, she said. “Some people support a candidate and they are being told ‘You are not welcome here.’”
