Los Banos cracks down on campaign signs; candidates say some stolen

Carole Duffy said it’s become a repeated practice: She puts out a campaign sign one day, and the next morning asks herself, “I wonder if my sign will be there today?”

Duffy, a Los Banos Unified School District candidate running for re-election, said people have been taking signs she and volunteers have placed around the district.

She isn’t the only one. School board candidates Dominic Falasco and Gary Munoz also have reported signs being taken.

But it is not necessarily thieves at work. City officials say many of the signs were picked up by code enforcement officers and the Public Works Department because of new regulations that restrict where they can be placed.

Missing or stolen campaign signs have been common occurrences in Los Banos during election season, Los Banos police Cmdr. Ray Reyna said.

“In the past, it always was a big issue,” Reyna said. “We put out rules on where signs can get placed.”

The Police Department issued a Facebook statement on Sept. 12, reminding candidates and volunteers to follow rules they received while applying to run for office.

The statement also said signs found to be on city or public property would be removed and could be reclaimed by candidates at the city Public Works yard at 1015 F St.

Duffy estimated about 30 of her signs have gone missing since she started putting them out weeks ago, Falasco said about eight of his signs have disappeared, and Munoz reported that three signs he placed at one location were gone.

According to the Merced County election office, municipalities are responsible for codes relating to campaign signage.

City Manager Alex Terrazas said a letter detailing campaign sign restrictions went out with candidate registration information.

According to the letter, signs can’t be placed earlier than the closing date of filing candidacy, and are required to be removed within 14 days after the election.

Neither political nor campaign signs can be attached to trees, fence posts or utility posts unless they are on private property with permission of the property owner. Signs placed on private property can’t create hazardous conditions or visual distractions to pedestrians or vehicle traffic.

Signs can’t be placed on public property or in the public right of way. And if signs do not follow city code or are not removed in a timely manner, the city can remove those signs and the candidate can be saddled with the cost.

Duffy on Monday acknowledged that several volunteers who were placing her signs earlier this year weren’t aware of the rules about not placing them on public right of way locations, and those signs were removed by the city.

“They put signs all the places where, four years ago, they were allowed to put them,” Duffy said. “This year (the city is) really enforcing the rules.”

Duffy said she has spoken to code enforcement officers and city officials to get a clearer scope of the rules.

Falasco said three of the eight signs that have gone missing were confiscated by city authorities because they were placed in public areas of residents’ front yards.

“I really thought that was my property,” Falasco said, noting that he didn’t know the area between the sidewalk and street was technically public property, but residents have the responsibility to maintain it.

However, Duffy, Falasco and Munoz say other signs they have placed are gone, and they don’t know who took them.

Duffy said that on five occasions this year, campaign signs she placed in her own yard have gone missing. But she said she has no reason to believe her opponent, Marg Benton, was taking them down.

Falasco said five signs he placed with permission at the Court of Fountains property were taken.

“It’s hard to believe anyone from Mr. Munoz’s camp is doing it,” Falasco said, adding that he and his opponent have a gentlemen’s agreement to keep the election clean.

Munoz said three signs, and one sign of school board candidate Tommy Jones, he placed Sunday on the property of the Mi Barrio Food and Gas Mart at Mercey Springs Road and Overland Avenue were missing the next day.

“I don’t think it is Dominic Falasco,” Munoz said, speculating it may be people who don’t want him or Jones to get elected.

This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Los Banos cracks down on campaign signs; candidates say some stolen."