Prosecutor urges respect for political process

As the General Election draws near, the candidates are now headed into the heaviest part of their campaign season and trying to get their messages out to the voters who will pass judgment on them at the polls on Nov. 2.

“Now reports are beginning to come into my office that people are stealing campaign signs,” Boundary County Prosecutor Jack Douglas said. “One candidate in particular has been especially hard hit in these thefts. As prosecutor, I need to tell the public that this office will not take a stand either for or against any one candidate; however, in this Country and this County, people are free to run for whatever office they choose with few restrictions, and the voters, by secret ballot, are free to pass judgment.”

Douglas added that true freedom demands that all candidates have a fair chance to be heard and for that information to flow freely between people, which is a large part of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“The process of running for office is expensive for candidates, especially those who have to pay for the campaign themselves,” Douglas said. “Signs are always a larger ticket item for candidates because they are expensive. It is unfortunate that the political season appears to bring out the worst in some people, and no doubt, some people may believe that stealing these signs or defacing them is an acceptable part of the political process. It is not.”

Douglas said this message applies regardless of whose campaign is hit or how someone intends to vote in the election. “If candidates are silenced in this way, we have all lost some of the freedoms our brave soldiers are actively trying to protect.”

“This office also wants to remind everyone that stealing or defacing these campaign signs is illegal,” he said. “If you choose to dishonor the community and our freedom by engaging in this behavior, then bear in mind that you are committing several illegal offenses including, theft, malicious injury to property and injury by graffiti.”

Douglas concluded by saying that anyone caught breaking these laws should not expect understanding or mercy from his office if he has a provable case against the person or persons involved. “In this age of negative campaigning and mudslinging, remember that the people who choose to run for an elected office, are doing so because they want to offer a better future for the community. Don’t cheapen our community by trying to prevent a candidate from a fair hearing before the voters.”