Sign wars waged on Richmond Hill streets and in social media
One candidate reported swastikas to police

YorkRegion.com
Oct. 20, 2014
Kim Zarzour

What is it about a little piece of corrugated plastic stuck in the ground on wire stakes that causes such a stir during election campaigns?

Over the past month, lawn signs have sprouted like weeds in Richmond Hill and along with their appearance, almost without fail, comes anger, frustration and sometimes, destruction.

This election, as in elections past, both residents and candidates have contacted The Liberal to complain of theft and vandalism of campaign signs.

In numerous cases, such as that of Ward 1 candidate Todd Hansen, they have also contacted York Regional Police.

Hansen said two of his signs posted in the Humberland subdivision of Oak Ridges were taken by police after swastikas were painted on them.

YRP Constable Laura Nicolle confirm police attended an address on Sept. 27 at 7:55 a.m. where two election signs had been vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti.

The investigation is ongoing and at this point, there are no suspects, but Hansen is disturbed that 24 hours after his signs were removed, his competitor’s signs were erected on the same property.

He doesn’t believe the swastikas were random, because none of his other signs were defaced that way.

“Clearly that property was targeted,” he said.

“I am shocked by the swastika symbols painted on my signs, but not shocked that a small local business owner has been bullied into taking my signs off his lawn.”

Many other candidates have struggled to keep their signs intact.

Some disappear completely. During the last election in 2010, former Ward 4 councillor Lynn Foster lost $1,000 worth of signs, hundreds of which later turned up in garbage bags in a farmer’s field. Other times, they are simply left on the ground to litter the landscape or left standing, but damaged.

Regional candidate Brenda Hogg found her face had been cut from her pink signs after the regional all-candidate ElectionFest event and she has noticed sign wars have become more aggressive.

“By my experience, it seems to be worse on the weekend and following any electoral meet-and-greet or debates. For the most part, I don’t think it is targeted, but it is pretty gruesome when someone takes the time to cut out your face and leave the sign.”

Ward 6 candidate Godwin Chan has also noticed a ramping-up of sign vandalism in recent weeks. His signs have been cut like Hogg’s or cut down, and those remaining have been obstructed from view by signs of other candidates, he said.

Chan said his supporters’ lawn signs have been stolen and replaced with that of another candidate without permission. He has complained to police.

“It is regrettable that such aggressive and absolutely inappropriate tactics have been used, rather than engaging in fair play and good-spirited campaign,” he said.

While town and regional employees have spent the past month chasing down complaints and enforcing sign bylaws, a kind of “citizen watch” vigilantism is also monitoring sign-installers who flaunt the rules. This weekend, social media reported that a Ward 5 candidate’s sign was illegally attached to a York Region road sign. Before bylaw officers could get to the scene, it had been re-installed, correctly.

Resident William Wong said he caught sign sign-stealers in the act Sept. 14, taking his Carmine Perrelli signs.

It was 1 in the afternoon, something he said he is certain of because he has security video recordings of the event.

“At first I thought it was just two kids being kids and being a little mischievous/disrespectful ... But upon closer examination of the security video clip, I noticed a few things.  

“Having a security background, I could tell these two kids were precise and focused on removing the sign with no hesitation whatsoever and from the video I could also tell they had already taken another Carmine Perrelli election sign. In other words, it seemed they had deliberate intentions.”

Perrelli said he has suggested council limit time for signs to three weeks prior to election day and only on private property with the property owners' consent.

Wong said it’s important for parents to teach their kids to be respectful of others’ views, during political elections in particular.

It’s not just respectful, it’s the law. Theft of election signs is a criminal offence, governed by the Criminal Code of Canada.

It’s also expensive, added Karen Cilevitz, a Ward 5 council candidate who has had numerous signs damaged and stolen, many found in creeks and greenways.

“I continue to lose small signs at an alarming rate; more than 100 small signs have now disappeared.”

Many residents asked her for lawn signs, only to find them mysteriously replaced overnight with her competitor’s sign, she said.

Cilevitz said detectives with District 2 York Regional Police are investigating an eyewitness account on Weldrick Road West — the apparent theft of her signs from a resident’s lawn and her opponent’s sign then re-adjusted on the same property — but she said the problem takes candidates’ time and money that could be spent campaigning.

“Election signs are a candidate’s single most expensive undertaking. In 2010 I lost a quarter of my large signs to vandalism and more than half — hundreds — of my small lawn signs simply disappeared. It is aggravating and very disconcerting.”

Some of the damage is perpetrated by youth under cover of darkness, she said, but some is deliberate and intended to harm a candidate’s visibility and election chances.

Cilevitz suggests schools educate students about election campaigns and the town hold public information sessions to mitigate the problem.

Licinio Miguelo, spokesperson for York Region public school board, said schools are part of the regional Character Community process and respect for property is infused into the curriculum. Anyone witnessing problems is encouraged to report to York Regional Police, he said.

At the same time, he said, the board sees a need for lessons in voting at all levels and respecting the importance of the entire process, providing schools with information about the election and encouraging election debates.

“We don’t allow politicization of classrooms, we don’t allow individual candidates to distribute flyers on property, but schools do promote informed voting.”

Some take their sign strife with a sense of humour, such as Oak Ridges’ Hansen who jokes that his signs, found in a tree this weekend, were placed there by squirrels showing their support. Others take it philosophically, candidates such as Ward 2’s Stan Daneman who, finding his signs damaged and removed on a daily basis, simply replaces them.

“Signs in themselves have little impact besides cluttering intersections — whether placed within or external of town or regional bylaws. We need to remain focussed on the message - good governance, what voters expect.”

Hogg agreed.

“An educated voter is one who has done a little reading, is familiar with local issues, comes to the candidate meetings and has talked to leaders/candidates in the community and not just at election time - but better late than never. An educated voter would never just base their vote on the number of signs.”

Signs as a show of support, she added, are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Some predict the sign-war controversy will wane as social media becomes a more important campaign tool.

Digital campaigning has been adopted by many Richmond Hill candidates — and voters.

This year’s election candidates have Instagram, Facebook pages, actual and fake Twitter accounts (anonymous supporters and trolls), while residents have been sharing their views on the election on Twitter or Facebook, even establishing “Unwanted” website pages to fight candidates they don’t support.

But digital politics expert Tamara Small doesn’t think campaign signs will disappear any time soon.

“If signs didn’t go up, few people would know there’s a campaign going on,” said the associate professor at the University of Guelph. “I’m a political scientist; I’d love it to be different, but that’s just the way it is.”

Digital technology requires a significant amount of knowledge on the part of the voter, whereas signs reach people where they’re at, home or in their car, with little effort — important for voters who may not follow local politics.

While new technology is being used increasingly, Small said candidates still rely on the same tools our first prime minister, John A. MacDonald used when he campaigned in 1867 — door-to-door visits and signs.

Digital technology means it’s more complicated for candidates today, she said, but it also makes it easier to report sign problems.

Vandalism and theft of campaign material has been an ongoing problem, but now, “candidates have a way to tell other people about it, on Twitter and Facebook”.

GOOD TO KNOW:
If an election sign has been placed on your property without consent, the town suggests that you contact the candidate and ask them to remove the sign within a specific time frame. As the property owner, you are permitted to remove the sign.

If you see an election sign in a location where you suspect it is in contravention of the Town’s Sign Bylaw for Elections, contact bylaw@richmondhill.ca  or 905-771-0198. A copy of the Town’s Sign Bylaw can be found at http://www.richmondhill.ca/documents/sign_by-law_52-09.pdf (Section 6.6).