Document text
Someone�s stealing Gore signs Mail Tribune / Jim Craven In recent weeks, someone has stolen 80 or so outdoor Gore-for-president signs from supporters� yards around Medford. All that remain at Jackson County Democratic headquarters now are unlaminated paper signs, like the one headquarters manager Jean Maack displays. GOP condemns thefts; some Bush placards are missing, too By Jessica Smith It could be a sign of just how heated the presidential race has become. Saturday morning, a number of dark blue placards supporting the Democratic ticket disappeared from Medford-area lawns. "It isn�t just one sign missing," said Jean Maack, a precinct worker who manages the Democrats� downtown office. "It�s all over town." According to Maack, the campaign signs for presidential candidate Al Gore and his running mate, Joe Lieberman, have been disappearing since they began going up in lawns and fields countywide. Local Gore campaign workers say as many as 80 signs have disappeared in the past three weeks. At least six people came in looking for replacements Saturday, but Maack had to tell them she had run out. And while no one knows what�s happened to the missing signs, Maack said she has a pretty good idea what caused their disappearance. "Someone wants to get them out of sight so that only (Republican candidate George W.) Bush signs are in sight," she said. If that is the case, said Republican precinct committee worker Davette Fowler, it�s not something local party organizers support. "There are certain people who are going to take signs down if they support the opponent or someone they don�t like," said Fowler. "I know we don�t agree with that at all." Besides, the vanishing-sign phenomenon doesn�t seem to be partisan. Fowler said about 10 campaign signs advertising Bush and running mate Dick Cheney also have disappeared. But Gore supporters say their candidate seems to be the real target. Jean Kilby, a precinct captain who put up many of the signs later stolen, said whoever is taking them is selective. Signs for Democratic candidates in local races have been largely untouched. In some cases, stolen Gore signs have been replaced with posters for Bush, Kilby added. "It�s very discouraging," she said. "Whoever�s doing it, it�s a dirty trick." Kilby said she�s replaced stolen signs repeatedly in east Medford, from Hillcrest Road to Barnett Road. Alberto Enriquez, a Hillcrest resident who lost his second sign Saturday, said he won�t stop showing his support for Gore. He spent $10 to laminate paper signs he tacked onto wooden stakes and put in his and a neighbor�s lawn. "It�s not the money, it�s the attempt to silence a point of view that disturbs me," he said. "These people need to look in a mirror and see if they belong to a political party or a pack of thieves." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.