Jesse Floyd
As election day draws closer, emotions around the proposed $8.4 million override are running hot.
The Belmont police have received 14 reports of stolen campaign signs in the last week, according to Police Chief James MacIsaac, who noted this is not terribly unusual during a hotly contested election.
The department posted a simple warning on its Facebook page: It is expected that people will hold differing political views, but don’t extend that difference into tampering with personal property.
“It’s not just unfriendly to suppress political expression by taking their signs; it’s also illegal,” the post reads. “While some might see it as a harmless joke, it constitutes a criminal act.”
According to Wayne Wild, chairman of the No Override campaign, 35 signs have been collected.
Belmont police are looking for video from the targeted areas. There hasn’t been a single neighborhood targeted, MacIsaac said, and he’s not certain that every incident has made it to the police department.
He did say he was comfortable saying that all the signs that were taken, and reported to Belmont Police, supported the No Override campaign.
Erin Rowland, campaign manager for Invest in Belmont, said pro override signs have also gone missing.
“The Invest in Belmont campaign has had to replace 17 signs. We don’t know if they were stolen intentionally or blown away in the wind. We have not reported the missing signs to the police,” Rowland said.
