Several candidates from different communities running for Halifax Regional Council and the Halifax Regional School Board say their election signs are being stolen or vandalized.
“All that’s left is the stake broken off. The sign is gone,” Linda MacKay, who is running to be a school board member in District 6 (Clayton Park West – Spryfield), said.
Costing an estimated $5 per sign, she said she’s had to replace about 20 of them; money she can’t use for other campaign expenses.
“I really don’t think any one of my competitors are pulling out signs, but it’s still frustrating that people don’t realize the impact it has,” MacKay said.
Several other candidates from other communities who spoke to Global News say they’re experiencing the same issues, including vandalism.
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“[Signs] enrage people in a certain way and they enrage competition, like we’re all vying for prime sign real estate,” Kate Watson, who is running for council in District 5 (Dartmouth Centre), said.
She said about six of her signs have been taken, something she calls “expensive” and “hurtful.” Watson also doubts other candidates are responsible.
Getting caught can lead to being fined or getting time behind bars, she added.
“On the good side, there are as many stories about people seeing signs that have fallen down and putting them back up as there are about signs going missing,” Watson said.
Rules related to this kind of signage can be found on the municipality’s website.
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