Jessica Cejnar / Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020 @ 5:20 p.m. / Elections
Incumbent in Supervisor Runoff Election Says Nearly 50 Campaign Signs Were Stolen, Damaged; DN Sheriff Plans to Pursue Criminal Charges
Nearly 50 of Lori Cowan's campaign signs were stolen, damaged and discarded, several at the end of 5th Street, on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Lori Cowan
Though she’s still assessing the damage, Lori Cowan says nearly 50 of her signs were stolen from yards, ripped or slashed and discarded.
The incumbent in the runoff election for Del Norte County District 2 supervisor said she received a phone call from a supporter notifying her that their yard sign was missing just before a session meeting Tuesday morning.
By the time she and her colleagues adjourned, about noon, Cowan had several messages saying all her signs had been removed and a few were dumped at the foot of 5th Street.
“Someone knew where my signs were,” she told the Wild Rivers Outpost. “They had scissors. Some were cut, some slashed, some ripped… We’re not talking hundreds of dollars, we’re talking thousands of dollars and, right now, I think my count is up to almost 50 signs.”
Cowan is running against Valerie Starkey in a runoff election for the District 2 seat on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors.
Of the signs she used to advertise her campaign, Cowan said she knows of about three that are still standing — ones near Walmart and Burger King, which are high-traffic areas, and another in an area that’s difficult to get to.
Cowan pointed out that one of her signs, on a ranch owned by Terry and Fran McNamara near Pebble Beach Drive and Washington Boulevard had been behind an electrified fence.
“This isn’t just vandalism,” she said. “This was somebody who methodically thought this out, and that’s what bothers me.”
Cowan said she has notified both the Crescent City Police Department and the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office. Police Chief Richard Griffin sent an officer to speak with people whose signs were taken from their yards, Cowan said.
Cowan said she’s also in the process of trying to determine just how many signs were removed and damaged and what the costs for them were.
Meanwhile, the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office stated it is seeking more information about the theft and defacing of Cowan’s signs and will refer their investigation to the Del Norte County District Attorney’s office for formal charging.
“We understand that politics can evoke strong emotions and election time can often intensify those emotions,” the sheriff stated in a Facebook post. “That said, theft and trespassing are not political expressions. They are crimes and will be treated as such.”
The stolen and damaged signs prompted Del Norte County Clerk Alissia Northrup to post information on her personal Facebook page about Section 490.2 in the California Penal Code regarding the theft, damage or relocation of political signs without the owners’ consent.
Anyone who has committed this misdemeanor could find themselves jailed for up to one year or fined up to $2,000, according to the penal code.
According to Northrup, the sign belongs both to the person whose campaign it represents and to the owner of the property it sits on. She noted that someone stealing that sign is also violating trespass laws.
“You see this happen unfortunately,” Northrup said, adding there’s not a lot anyone can do unless there are witnesses or camera footage. “You expect it as a candidate that you’re going to have some signs destroyed just by weather or whatever, but to have almost your entire campaign signs destroyed, that’s pretty devastating.”
Northrup said she spoke with the Del Norte County Sheriff, Erik Apperson, who said people who have yard signs that wind up missing should report that to the candidate to enable them to contact law enforcement.
“I think we’re better than this,” Northrup said. “It wasn’t just campaign signs in general. It’s clear somebody was targeted.”
Starkey said she, too, is appalled by the theft and vandalism to her opponent’s campaign signs. Starkey said she plans to post a statement, “standing in solidarity” with Cowan.
“The voters need an opportunity to know who they want to vote for and signs are just one way for name recognition,” she said. “For those to have been destroyed or taken down is unacceptable. This is so not OK. We need to come together and not rip each other apart.”
Despite “scare tactics,” Cowan said she’s going to move forward with her campaign. She said she has some signs left and will “reassess.”
“To get attacked this viciously, it’s pretty devastating, but I’m not going to let it get me down,” she said. “I’m going to get it together and be out tomorrow putting up signs.”
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