Document text
By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune October 27. 2014 6:33PM Sign wars rage again in Phoenix PHOENIX — While the last election season was marred by claims of stolen campaign signs, 'sign wars' in this embattled town reached a new level this past week when a for-hire sign waver claims he was forced to move from one corner of town after being told by the mayor he was violating city sign ordinances. City officials confirmed Monday that the sign waver, Dan Cheek, was informed about the city sign ordinance and told not to leave signs in the public right of way. Cheek was hired by council challengers Judy Grillo, Melissa Wagy and Steve Schulman, along with Councilor Terry Helfrich, who is challenging Mayor Jeff Bellah for his seat. Cheek said he was told by Bellah, in person on Friday, to take down at least one of his signs or that he could be cited. "He said 'That sign is on public property and you need to take it down.' I said, 'Ok, and you're who?' He said he was the mayor and I said, 'Well, OK, my shift is over in 10 minutes, I'll take it down then,' " Cheek said Monday. "He drove by and pointed at the sign and pointed at me. Then at the end of my shift I took it down and he drove by again to make sure I took it down." Bellah said claims by the other candidates that he "bullied" Cheek were "absolutely untrue" and had changed since they were first made. "The city manager said people reported Dan was blocking the sidewalk," Bellah said. "I was by Ray's and I saw a sign that was sprawled between two utility poles." Bellah added, "Nobody told him to leave. I think it's being blown up for effect. I just didn't want to see him get a ticket or anything. I didn't intend to intimidate him." Bellah's challenger, Helfrich, voiced frustration with the sign battles among candidates. "In all the years I've been doing this, I've never seen anything like it," Helfrich said. "We call it the sign wars and that's not the best way to pick a quality candidate. It's not about the signs." City Manager Steve Dahl confirmed he had e-mailed candidates who hired Cheek to ensure they were aware of the city sign ordinance but said no citation had been issued and no one asked Cheek to move. Dahl said his only advice to candidates was that Cheek could not leave signs in the public right of way unattended, per city sign ordinances. On Monday, state road crews were working in Ray's parking lot and Cheek had moved to a vacant lot at the nearby intersection and been outfitted with a large trailer covered in signs. Cheek danced and waved his signs while motorists honked and waved. Grillo and Wagy voiced frustration, claiming Bellah's actions forced Cheek to relocate. They said Bellah confronted Cheek, prompting him to have to move from the public right of way in front of Ray's Market. Then, they said, a sign for Bellah's campaign appeared in the same location the next day. "I was told in the beginning that politics in Phoenix are like this but I just didn't believe it," said Wagy. Bellah said he specifically ordered his campaign volunteers not to put a sign in front of Ray's and had the sign removed later on Monday. Bellah called claims that he threatened Cheek with citations or other actions "outright lies." "This is just small town Phoenix politics at its worst. I'm not going to play the game and be in any of these sign wars. I've got a good mind to just take all mine down." Cheek held his ground, maintaining he was told he could be cited for failure to remove his signs from the right-of-way near Ray's, which he said resulted in his relocation from in front of Ray's. "The amazing thing for me in all of this is I've been doing this line of work for seven years and I've been hassled more since Friday than I have in the seven years preceding," said Cheek. Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141027/NEWS/141029672 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->