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Campaign Sign Flap
(9/28/98) Stealing or destroying campaign signs may reflect the darker side of politics. And, one candidate for Salt Lake County Commission brought that into the daylight last Friday. News Specialist, Richard Piatt has the story of the sign that candidate ripped down.
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 -Main Election Page- |
That candidate is Mark Shurtliff. He says he made a big mistake when he took Mike Reberg's sign down. In fact, Shurtiff put it back up yesterday. But there are a few people who aren't ready to forget this case yet.
One of those people is Allen Hose. Hose says he saw Shurtleff pulling on the sign, obviously trying to remove it. And this is how he describes the way Shurtleff appeared.
Allen Hose, Witness: "Angry. He literally yanked. It took a couple of tries but he literally yanked it off the poles."
Today, the Reberg sign is back, propped up along a busy street in Sandy. But Shurtleff is paying the price for Friday's flash of anger. The police wrote a report and reporters are writing stories. And his opponent says he wants an apology.
Mike Reberg, County Commission Candidate: "The fact of the matter is he took down my sign in the middle of the day on Friday, and I don't think you can justify that."
Shurtleff admits he was wrong. But he says the sign-stealing game-- part of a lot of campaigns--victimized him first. And in this spot, he says the poles are his. He says that's why the sight of the sign made him so mad.
Mark Shurtleff, County Commission Candidate: "Here it wasn't, 'Oh my sign is missing. I wonder how that happened?' It's, 'My sign's gone and another is in its place!'"
Sandy police have a report. But they haven't decided what to do with this case. But one voter has formed an opinion: The witness, Allen Hose.
Allen Hose, Witness: "When you see a candidate do it, that really makes me zero in on a person's integrity. And whether that person should be running for office."
In fact, both candidates regret that this is the reason they're getting publicity.
FOLLOW UP NOTE
The Sandy City police subsequently decided not to charge Shurtleff in this incident. They concluded that he put the sign back, and the pole belonged to him.
