City Council candidates lament signs being stolen but say it's Peoria politics

Dozens of campaign signs fill an embankment near the Peoria County Election Commission on Brandywine Drive in Peoria.
Dozens of campaign signs fill an embankment near the Peoria County Election Commission on Brandywine Drive in Peoria.

PEORIA — It's election season, and that means fliers, campaign ads and, of course, stolen signs from the roadside or from front yards.

Candidates for the April 4 at-large City Council seats say having signs stolen, lost or misplaced is just a price you pay for politics and local elections. It's akin to a rite of spring.

"It's what you expect. There is a certain amount of street cred that comes with it. If someone is stealing your signs, then someone thinks you are a threat," quipped Lawrence Maushard, who is one of 10 people vying for five spots on the council.

Maushard said he's lost a third of his 120 or so signs. Some were in yards. Others were along commercial streets. Who took them? He has no idea, but at $10 a pop, it adds up for a campaign like his, which isn't big bucks.

Same with Mike Vespa, another candidate, who said he's lost a handful over the election season.

"I see it as politics as normal. It's part of the rough and tumble of Peoria politics, which is a sad commentary but I know it's been going on for decades," he said. "My dad (Joe Vespa) ran in 1992, and he had that happen to him."

More:Darin LaHood says FBI wrongly sought surveillance info about him

An informal survey of the 10 candidates had all but one reply. Of those nine, incumbent John Kelly and political newcomer Bernice Gordon-Young did not report any stolen signs. The rest — Maushard, Vespa, Demario Boone, Kiran Velpula, Benjamin Nicks, Anu Uddavolu and Zachary Oyler — all reported at least one missing sign.

Oyler said he's lost about 20 from the East Bluff neighborhood. He wasn't taken aback so much by the loss of the signs as by how they were all from a specific area.

"That's what is a bit more abnormal. It's all in a specific area," he said. "Someone working on my campaign said they were putting them out and they all disappeared overnight. It's not unusual but it gets my attention when it's in a specific area. That's a first."

Nicks said he's lost about 10 signs from Alta Road, Knoxville Avenue and Allen Road. The 10 missing represent 20% of his 50 signs.

More:New housing could be catalyst for improved Peoria corridor. Here's the plan

Gordon-Young said she's not focused on yard signs. Rather, she's out campaigning.

"This is something that goes with the territory," she said. "I don't think it's the other people who are out there running for office."

Boone agreed. Ever the optimist, he tried to find some good in his handful of missing signs.

"I'm a 'glass half full' guy so I hope that people are putting them in their yard," he said of his half-dozen signs that went missing from an area near the Peoria County Election Commission.

And while it's not a huge amount of money, all agree it is a pain to worry about where the signs are. Vespa said he's got a full-time job as an attorney but still has to spend time driving around to check up on his signs that he has put out.

More:Touted as a 'no risk' proposal, Peoria City Council approves hotel project in downtown

Rich Powers, who heads the city's public works department, said his employees started to remove signs located in the right of way on Wednesday. Signs would be taken to the department's office on Dries Lane.

"Right-of-way areas include medians and the areas between the curb and sidewalk. Per city ordinance, signs also cannot exceed 8 square feet on residential properties and 32 square feet on non-residential properties," according to a departmental press release.

Powers said if you are near a utility pole, then that's a good sign you are likely in a right of way.

Signs collected will be held at the Department of Public Works, 3505 N. Dries Lane. For more information or questions regarding signs in the right of way, contact public works at (309) 494-8800.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Stolen political signs again an issue in Peoria City Council race