Campaign sign vandalism escalates in Seaside City Council race
SEASIDE, Calif. (KION-TV)
This isn't the first time campaign signs have been stolen, damaged or vandalized in the months leading up to an election, but the issue seems to be escalating in Seaside this year - particularly in their City Council race.
Thursday night, Dr. Ayman Adeeb, a local businessman, spoke with KION about his signs and businesses being damaged or hit with graffiti.
"I open my door and see my campaign sign has a hole in the middle... I made a police report for the first one, but I couldn't make a police report for the second because I didn't want to scare my kids. I just took it and put it in my truck," Adeeb tells KION.
Another recent incident shows his sign vandalized surrounded by other, seemingly untouched, signs.
Less than 24 hours later, Adeeb found more campaign materials damaged. He left Friday's council candidate forum early to head to his restaurant "Fishwife." Adeeb tells KION the back window of his "campaign truck" was broken, his sign has a hole through it, and campaign flyers were ripped.
He says he is not sure who is targeting his signs and describes a good relationship with the other candidates (something other candidates also tell KION) - not criticizing them of foul play.
When asked why his signs are being damaged, Adeeb says it could be because of his support for law enforcement, but it is just speculation.
"The difference between me and three of the other candidates is that I support public safety and the first reponders. I was endorsed by the Police Officer's Association," he said.
Voices to "defund police" have been loud in Seaside with a series of rallies held over the summer. Large cuts to police ultimately failed in budget talks.
But Adeeb isn't alone when it comes to campaign sign vandalism. Alexis Garcia-Arrazola said on Thursday there were incidents where a whole group of signs were taken down. Garcia-Arrazola says his signs have been targeted about five times.
"All candidates have been attacked. All signs have been taken out. This is an issue of someone or a group of people that are doing this and we want to make sure this stops," he said.
Garcia-Arrazola says he spoke with Adeeb on Thursday about the candidate's damaged signs and offered his condolences.
"[I am] Sending out a message to my community members that we are going to promote peace and we are going to move together as one because Seaside can't progress unless we all move together as one," he said.
Another candidate, Tanisha Dunn, expressed frustration in a conversation with KION Friday night.
"I see a division between the community and the City of Seaside that needs to be mended. We have really normalized disrespect. So much disrespect has been happening and we have [avoided] making statements like "welcome to politics" or "it's politics". This is not politics. It has become a circus," Dunn said.
Dunn says she has been contacted by the city about her campaign signs being in places they are not allowed to be in - something which would lead to a fine if not fixed. She says she doesn't know who was placing them in these locations, but claims it wasn't her.
"It is not OK to tear down things. It is disrespectful not just to the candidates, but to the community of Seaside," she says "I wish we could enforce more cameras or to get footage if they have it, but we need to get to the bottom of this because it is a crime," Dunn said.
There are five candidates running for two open seats on Seaside's City Council. Aside from Adeeb, Garcia-Arrazola and Dunn are Regina Mason and incumbent David Pacheco.
