A candidate for council in Central Saanich is speaking out against people illegally removing or defacing campaign signs.
Niall Paltiel, who is seeking a second term in the Oct. 20 election, said vandals spray-painted about eight of his signs in the Tanner Ridge area last week. Then, after he replaced the signs, a number of them were stolen.
Paltiel reported the incident to Central Saanich police, but also wanted to remind the public that damaging or stealing signs is a criminal offence.
鈥淎nd while it might be fun or seem like a simple thing just to vandalize an election sign, these are not big-budget campaigns that we鈥檙e running,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 usually small, grassroots, local community members that are donating 鈥� We don鈥檛 have tons of money to replace these signs.鈥�
Paltiel joins a growing list of politicians voicing concerns about sign tampering during the municipal election campaign.
Victoria city council candidates have signed a joint statement asking people to obey the law and respect those running for office by refraining from damaging or removing lawn signs. Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps initiated the move after learning that about 200 of her signs had gone missing in what appeared to be a targeted attack.
Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O鈥橞rien said the detachment has yet to receive any reports of damaged or missing campaign signs in that city. 鈥淏ut we fully expect to have a handful in the upcoming days,鈥� he said, adding that it鈥檚 a common complaint during election campaigns.
O鈥橞rien said police have a number of options for handling incidents, depending on their seriousness.
鈥淲e always have discretion in any call we deal with,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can go with [a] mischief [charge] under the criminal code if we find that it鈥檚 absolutely malicious and they were targeting individuals involved in a campaign.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 a one-off, we may just say: 鈥楴o, we鈥檙e going to go with a warning. Don鈥檛 do it again. It鈥檚 documented.鈥� And then next time we may come down harder on the individual.鈥�
Kevin Murdoch, who is running for mayor in Oak Bay, said he鈥檚 lost about 15 to 20 signs this fall to what he believes are 鈥渞andom acts of vandalism.鈥�
And while it鈥檚 not a major issue for him, Murdoch said the damage and waste are a frustrating part of running for office.
鈥淎ll of my signs are in front of people鈥檚 houses that want to show their support,鈥� he said.
鈥淪o when you take that away, you鈥檙e taking away their ability to say that. I can鈥檛 replace them because the spending limits limit how many I can make. So if they鈥檙e gone, they鈥檙e gone.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e all paid for by small individual donations. There鈥檚 no corporate or union donations here. It鈥檚 somewhat frustrating where people cheerfully give their money to see it lost.鈥�
Murdoch said he鈥檚 no fan of campaign signs on public land.
鈥淏ut I think the signs in front of people鈥檚 homes are pretty important for our democracy at this level, because it鈥檚 one of the few ways that people can actually express their support.鈥�
Paltiel said he understands that not everyone will be happy with council decisions. But he said municipal politicians are more accessible than most and that there鈥檚 a better way to voice concerns than resorting to criminal acts.
鈥淵ou can come to any of our meetings,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can stop us in the grocery store or anywhere else and have a conversation about issues that matter to you and we鈥檒l always be happy to field calls or questions.
鈥淚 think our community鈥檚 way better off if we can have informed discussions about our differences as opposed to resorting to illegal activity and vandalism.鈥�
