Mayoral Candidate Decries Sign Theft

One day they were there, and the next day they were gone.

That's what mayoral candidate is saying about hundreds of her campaign posters, which used to be staked all over Snellville. On Wednesday, they had disappeared.

"I don't know how many were actually taken," Kautz said, frustrated. "Some of them have been up for weeks."

She called the to see if they, by chance, had taken them down. No, that wasn't it. Neither the folks at nor down at the Evermore CID had taken them down for clean-up either.

"My opponent's signs are still up," Kautz added.

, who is also running for mayor of Snellville, said some of her signs were taken down, as well. She, too, contacted Snellville Police. It's happened before, she said.

"I have been the victim of sign thefts in every election I have been in," Bender said. "I hate to use our police resources tracking down $4 campaign signs. I’ve actually been surprised that I haven’t lost more by now."

Regarding the hundreds of signs that Kautz lost on Wednesday, Bender said don't look to her campaign supporters.

"My supporters who would even bother with signs are instructed to never touch an opponents sign," she said.

To say the least, Kautz is wary and frustrated. At about $2 a sign, the mayoral candidate said that replacing them will be a challenge. She had a total of 500 made previously.

"I don't have the money to replace these signs," Kautz said, adding that she's received an outpouring of support from people who want to help.

The signs were not only yanked from a number of roads, but from private businesses where she had permission to campaign, including on: North Road, Wisteria Road, Oak Road, Rockdale Circle, Scenic Highway, U.S. Highway 78, and more.

A police report has already been filed with Snellville Police Department, and video surveillance is being reviewed from a number of private businesses.

Bender said she hopes everyone can get back to focusing on the issues and not lost signs. There are bigger things to be concerned about, she said.

"If someone wants to be silly and steal my signs during a serious election, I figure I’ll let them have their fun," she said. "I’d rather spend my time talking about the issues with concerned citizens than spend my time fretting over lost signs."

But, it's not a silly sign matter to Kautz.

"I understand that stealing signs happens a lot in political elections, but that does not make it right," Kautz said in a press statement. "This is petty behavior that is a crime.

"What is so frustrating is that we are not talking about a few signs but all of the signs that my supporters had worked so hard to place throughout the city."