Intra-party political spat? Campaign signs keep disappearing
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VANCOUVER, Wash. – One group in Vancouver is claiming it is being hit hard by vandals and thieves taking down and destroying their campaign signs.
The PCO Liberty Alliance is a new grassroots conservative group in Clark County that wants to reform the local Republican Party. They suspect a lot of the sign stealing is being done by people on their side of the political fence.
The group set up a video to catch those responsible, but it didn't quite work.
In the video a bicyclist pulls up and takes down a PCO Liberty Alliance campaign sign, which was one of many that disappeared.
"We've had three candidates with a total of 15 signs removed in that immediate area," said Christian Berrigan who set up the sign sting. "And they were always removed within 24 hours. So we knew this was a good place to stake out and put up a camera and catch 'em in the act."
His sting did capture a bicyclist stopping and taking one of the group's signs. But it was perfectly legal, police said, because the sign was on public property and not where political signs were supposed to be.
But a member of the PCO Liberty Alliance followed the cyclist while videotaping. The conversation that was recorded was anything but politically correct. The group member asked the cyclist if its candidate was "too conservative. Maybe the establishment doesn't like her? Is that why?" The cyclist responds with a blast of profanities.
"He certainly had an opportunity to say that sign didn't belong there or something like that," Berrigan said. "But he seems to be like a guy on a self-appointed mission of some kind."
Or at least the group thinks someone is. They've found bunches of other legally posted signs stashed away, usually just theirs, but often replaced with other Republican Party signs.
For group members it's about breaking the law and, even more importantly, it's about free speech.
"If they have a problem with someone's ideas, then the proper way to deal with it is to put out ideas of their own, not to try and subvert or to silence other people," Berrigan said.
The general rule about political signs is they have to be on private property with the permission of the property owner. If someone takes down a legal sign, that person could get as much as a $5,000 fine and a year in jail.
Good. Let them destroy themselves and not this country.
"But it was perfectly legal, police said, because the sign was on public property and not where political signs were supposed to be."
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So if someone park his/her car illegally on public property, does that mean I can just go up and take it? Â I wouldn't have thought just anyone could remove a sign posted illegally, just the city/county. Â
 @BetiÂ
No you cannot take a car illegally parked, because you don't have the contract to do so.
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If you had the contract, you can tag then tow that vehicle. Then get a new title as a "lean holder" if the owner does not pay the fine you impose on the tow, the ticket (if applicable) and the storage fee.
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For example, there is a complaint or a bored tow truck driver goes through your area, they can (and certainly WILL) tag the vehicle or trailer with a green or orange/red tag.
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You then have between 24 and 72 hours depending on the law and the tag to move the vehicle or it will be towed. Then you pay (a hostage fee) to get it back, or they own it.
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Oh and then they will send the bill to collections who will threaten to sue you and wreck your credit to get the bill paid.
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So technically, yes, a private agency can and will tow an illegally park car.
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It'a legal becuase the city does not have a contract to clean that up.
 @Repoman Thank your for the information.
 @Repoman Yeah, I know I can't take just someone's car.  Maybe I just didn't write my thoughts out clearly.  I just thought it was peculiar that it was legal for someone to remove a political sign just because it was posted on public property.  Is this a rule particular to political signs and not other personal property?
@Beti
It's illegal because it's considered advertising and not property, which amounts to trash basically. It's akin to littering.
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Just like you couldn't post "Beti for president" signs all over public parks. Duh?!
 @Beti Not an accurate comparison. A political sign is not considered someone's property, whereas a car is (which should be towed). Pretty common sense really, which you obviously lack.
Wow, kind of a harsh response. Â Setting aside your comment about my common sense, why wouldn't the sign be considered the property of the person/party who posted it?
 @Beti Because it's considered advertising not property, which reinforces your lack of common sense.
"The PCO Liberty Alliance is a new grassroots conservative group in Clark County that wants to reform the local Republican Party. They suspect a lot of the sign stealing is being done by people on their side of the political fence."
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I hate to see white on white crime.
I live in a neighborhood where this adolescent political show is happening. Â This is definitely a Republicans eat their own squabble. Â The libs have no dog in this fight as the election regards local delegates to some GOP function.
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Two observations:
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A local PCOLA candidate attached a flier to my door telling me she was running for a local political office and providing all her positions on national/societal issues. Â When I inquired about local issues, she was wholly uninformed.
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These folks appear to be uber pro-private sector... yet they put their signs on public space. Â If they are so damn supportive of the private sector, they should buy lawn space from people and shun using "socialistic" public space to promote their cause.
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Uninformed and duplicitous? Â We report - you decide. Â :-)
 @Ed Ruttledge Ed, The PCO is the first point of contact between the citizen and the political party. The PCO is an automatic delegate from your precinct to the county convention, and is your representative to elect the county party officers. The county party officers then elect the state party officers, etc. The PCO Liberty alliance movement is based on the premise that we the people are tired of the national party dictating what the platform will be and who the National and State candidates will be. Case in point is the recent Primary for Governor, where the RNC was funding their chosen candidate McKenna over other more highly qualified Republican candidates. This gave him an overwhelming advantage at the polls, and the will of the people wasn't heard over the roar of the establishment elephants. People will naturally tend to campaign by relating to national issues, because those are the ones that interest people. Let's face it, outside of the CRC, there's nothing locally that really fires people up. Keep our property taxes down and keep the public services intact. What else do you want from your local politicians?The PCO liberty alliance is scaring the hell out of the long time party faithful, because for a long time all you had to do to be a local Republican party officer was just show up. That's not the case this year. Conservatives have shown up in droves, and have made it clear that they're not happy with the way the RNC has been asleep at the wheel for so long. The smart establishment types are getting on board. The liberal-lite squishes who've been riding the gravy train are scared, because they don't know how to speak like a genuine conservative.
They have to ask your permission to put those signs up on your property? Really? So when I get yelled at for taking those things off my property I can just ignore them? I am sooo tired of the things sprouting on my front yard every night! And you have to throw them in the garbage, can't recycle them.
@mrskmp They have no right to come onto your property in the first place. Is this really happening to you? How about starting with a No Trespassing sign?
 @mrskmpÂ
They are littering and you can file a complaint. Who you file it with depends on if you have a neighborhood association and what area you live in.Although you might just contact them in a conference call with a hungry blogger/reporter and ask them to stop doing it and to come take back their signs and see what happens.
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No political sign belongs on public property, that just goes without saying. We ALL pay for it, like it or not and thus we all can't be represented and thus no one gets to put signs up.
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But on private property its you land and thus stealing if they take it away, vandalism if they deface/damage it and littering if they leave it there.
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Two things:
1) The PCO Liberty Alliance should probably read the sign regulations and
2) Never put up a yard sign close enough to the street or sidewalk so that anyone on a bicycle can just kick it over.
I have no dog in this fight. I live in Phoenix.
if it occurred in a neighborhood i would have immediately suspected some neighborhood association richard, ultra conservative type.Â
Maybe he was taking the sign to someone to help him read it. He looks rather stupid to me, in his nice, bright yellow ( hope nobody sees me ) outfit. That's what the Libs call " trying to STEAL the election. They want their freedom of speech, but they want to take away your freedom of speech if don't agree with them. Kinda of like Obama, Pelosi and Reed. Smile for the camera you LOOSER.
@springfvr Hey, "looser," [sic] why are you attempting to distract conservative-on-conservative corruption by bringing up liberals. In doing so, you've demonstrated that in reality, the conservatives are no better. The reason I stopped supporting Republicans is because they're hypocrites, always telling me how corrupt somebody ELSE is.
 @springfvr So, Republicans stealing from other Republicans is because a Liberal drove them to it?  Why not, they blame the Liberals for everything else.  Hate to break it to you, but you need to use a wrench to tighten that LOOSE nut you're got.
 @Emi-Lynn This is not a democrat issue at all. But it is a liberal issue. Liberal republicans are called rinos. They like big government programs, usually different ones than the democrats.
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@springfvr "They suspect a lot of the sign stealing is being done by people on their side of the political fence." It sounds like Republicans attacking Republicans for not being conservative enough or being too liberal. Doesn't sound like Liberal Democrats by what is written in this article. I guess you had to get your hate-liberals rant off your chest for the day.
 @springfvr A "looser"? Huh? :D xD
 @springfvr Looser what?Â
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@Bikerider My First Amendment is not confined to my house where people can't take it. If somebody's comes on my property to remove anything down to the price tag on my garden hose, they're trespassing.
Oh good. NoW I can take down those hideous lifepac signs in the medians.
Dang guess I won't go around stealing the signs in my neighborhood...
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This cracks me up a little.. but I'd be pissed if someone was taking them off my property.
@back4more I'd be more pissd if someone were putting them ON my property...which seems to be what they are doing...without permission.