NEWTON, N.C. — The Newton Police Department is investigating after a candidate said his campaign signs were stolen and found in the department’s dumpster.
The candidate said he found the missing signs after placing tracking devices on them.
The police chief told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that the department is reviewing surveillance video from cameras in the parking lot. He said police officers and the city have been told not to remove signs.
Brad Scott is running unopposed for the Newton-Conover City Schools Board of Education after winning the primary. He said over the last couple of weeks, about 20 signs have been stolen just west of town, so he decided to place an Apple AirTag on a couple of those signs.
“It’s a shame,” he said. “I just wanted to make an impact on the school system and help support our kids. I want the kids to get a good education because this is a fantastic school district.”
Scott said by the next morning, he could see the signs were in a dumpster at the Newton Police Department. Faherty spoke with the police chief about it.
“Just want the general public to know that us as a city, we will not and do not go out and just remove signs,” Chief Vidal Sipe said. “If their signs are in the right of way somewhere blocking the view obstructing view, we will ask them to move their signs to a different location.”
Faherty learned in 2011, Scott withdrew from a school board race in Burke County after he was arrested for stealing signs of an opponent there. He admitted to making a mistake and said it changed his life.
“People who want to bring this up, my reaction is honestly that’s fine, we can talk about it,” he said. “I’m not scared about it.”
Scott said it happened when he was 22 years old and the charges were later dismissed. He said now that it’s happened to him, he just hopes it stops.
“I don’t know if I ruffled somebody’s feathers. Politics is politics and I couldn’t tell you why,” he said.
Faherty asked Scott if he was the one responsible for stealing his own signs.
“I’m definitely not someone who’s going to walk on a police department property and put stuff in a dumpster,” he said. “I had the Board of Education bring this up, the chairman who’s actually a part-time officer at that department.”
The police chief told Channel 9 that stealing political signs is a Class 3 misdemeanor. If convicted, that person could face a fine of several hundred dollars.
VIDEO: Campaign signs repeatedly stolen, damaged in Gaston County
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