Mayoral candidate Toomey says dozens of his campaign signs stolen or vandalized

One of the six candidates for mayor of Mitchell said some of his campaign signs are being stolen or vandalized.

Jerry Toomey said more than 40 of his signs have disappeared in recent days. Some that were located had been damaged.

"I just think it's kind of sad that people are taking down signs," Toomey said. "I think it's disrespectful to a candidate, any candidate."

Some of the signs were found out of town, while others had been ripped in half, while one had been uprooted and tossed in a back yard, he said. Toomey said he has "absolutely no idea" why this is happening.

He said there appear to be only two reasons for this: "Somebody either doesn't like me or I'm giving someone cause for worry."

Toomey first called The Daily Republic to report the signs' disappearance on Tuesday. He said then he was unsure if he wanted to mention it publicly.

But Thursday morning, more signs were gone and Toomey felt it needed to be made public.

He said he discussed the losses with the Mitchell Police Division but said he didn't file a report or accept an offer for additional patrols by his signs.

"They have more important things to do," Toomey said.

He ordered 100 new signs Thursday for about $400. Toomey said the theft and vandalism won't slow him down.

Other mayoral candidates have reported minor losses or no lost signs. Some said a few signs had been blown over or disappeared.

Roger Haley said he also lost some signs, which may have been due to high winds. Haley said he wasn't sure if any were stolen.

Tara Volesky said some signs vanished, which she said may also have been caused by recent high winds.

Ken Tracy said he has some signs uprooted but he thinks that was caused by the wind or a storm.

Toomey said other candidates' signs that were secured by the same base as his are still standing, while his signs have disappeared.

"I had a couple of them welded to a metal post and they were twisted off and gone," he said. "I had some weighted down with bricks. It's not the wind."

Toomey said he's disappointed this occurred in a year when six candidates stepped forward to run for mayor.

That was an impressive indication of community interest, he said, as was the large crowd that attended a candidate forum May 8.

"It's just sad that this has to happen," he said. "More than anything, it's disrespectful to the candidates."