Posted on 09/03/2004 6:48:52 AM PDT by Horatio Gates
A Tacoma firefighter is under investigation after he showed up at the Tacoma landfill to dump campaign signs that had been reported missing.
Dick Dorsett, one of three Democrats seeking the Pierce County Council's District 4 seat in the Sept. 14 election, alerted Tacoma police on Monday after a landfill worker called his campaign to say that someone was dumping his blue-and-yellow signs.
By Thursday, prosecutors were preparing to review a police investigation that reportedly targets a firefighter union leader who backs one of Dorsett's rivals, Tim Farrell.
"I didn't want to get into this pointing fingers," Dorsett said. "(But) I sure didn't think I'd catch somebody boneheaded enough to drive his truck with my signs in it into the landfill in the middle of the day."
Farrell denied any knowledge of sign theft and apologized if the allegation is true. "I don't advocate stealing yard signs," he said.
But a landfill worker's quick thinking - he photocopied the firefighter's driver's license - has ignited a scandal in the council race.
It's common during election season for candidates to find campaign signs missing, damaged or ruined. But hardly anyone gets caught because there's rarely a witness. Even weirder in this case is the possible connection to Farrell.
Here's what happened, based on interviews with campaign workers, city staff and law enforcement officials:
Last Friday, Thomas Ebat, a Dorsett campaign worker looking for the missing signs, asked the landfill staff to watch for anyone who might be trashing Dorsett's property.
On Monday, a landfill worker watched a pickup truck pull up to the scale house with a load of Dorsett signs in the back. He made a copy of the driver's license and later called Ebat with the information.
Ebat said the landfill worker told him the name on the license was Vern Heller.
Heller is a Tacoma firefighter and vice president of the city's firefighter union. He runs the union's "sign shop," which makes and distributes signs for endorsed candidates. He also donated $100 to Farrell's campaign, according to campaign finance records.
There's another connection. Heller is married to Amy Heller, who lost a bid for the Tacoma City Council last year to Tom Stenger.
Dorsett was Stenger's campaign manager. Farrell helped run Amy Heller's campaign.
Vern Heller, questioned on his doorstep Wednesday, declined to comment.
"Until I talk to my lawyer and the police, I have nothing to say," he said as he closed the door.
Landfill staff turned over the photocopy of the truck driver's license to police, along with surveillance video, said city spokeswoman Tara Hazarian. It was unclear what was on the video. Police completed their investigation by Wednesday and sent the case to Pierce County prosecutors.
The case is expected to land in Tacoma Municipal Court, where city prosecutors will decide whether to file a charge.
Jean Hayes, a city prosecutor, said such a case could be classified under the lowest level of theft, a gross misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and $5,000 fine. It's not clear how long it will take for prosecutors to decide whether to pursue the case.
Farrell said he'd wait to find out if the allegations are true before deciding whether to return Heller's $100 contribution. He also called Dorsett on Thursday and left a message offering to put the signs back up himself.
Dorsett said he's lost as many as 20 signs that cost a little more than $2 each. He also lost a couple of larger plywood signs, which he said run about $25.
"I'll stay focused on my campaign, and if I have to deal with it afterward, I will," Dorsett said. "But I had to do something. If I hadn't, it would have kept happening."
Dorsett won't get his signs back. They were trashed.
It must really suck to be stupid.
Steve Gill, host of a popular conservative Nashville radio show, said that someone had BURNED his "Bush/Cheney '04" yard sign in his front yard a couple of weeks ago. He was absolutely livid and flatly stated that he would not let TERROR TACTICS like those incorporated by the KKK and the Islamofascists stop him for proucly displaying his support for our president.
Personally, if I caught someone trying to start a fire just feet from my house while my family slept, they would meet Mr. Ruger.
His private comments when he found out he'd been caught must have been extremely expleted deleted.:)
Perhaps somewhere a Republican has stolen or vandalized a Democrat candidate's sign, but that certainly seems to be the exception.
Sounds-like-fun Ping!
Reminds me of a local (Ohio) county commissioner who was caught on videotape stealing his opponent's signs. When confronted by a reporter, he said, "It wasn't me. But if it was me, I was forced to do it."
Wait, you mean there's a union official involved in strong-arm thuggery? Let me get my surprised face on.
ping
This is a very, very, very common RAT tactic. In the Twin Cities, this goes on in every election and it is uniformly practiced against Republicans. One day the sign is up, the next morning it's gone. I have seen 'R' candidate signs in dumpsters myself.
I'd like to catch some RAT taking my signs...
Ya'll got nuthin' on the the Fire Chief of Grand Coteau, LA.
1.How can something be "stolen" from public property [tree lawns, etc]
2. How can something be "stolen" that was not purchased and has no value?
Another case of WEINERS!!! [If I had called the police to report a stolen campaign sign they would have laughed in my face. I guess we should take into account the state and the party huh?]
That's funny! You didn't mention his political party, probably because it was unnecessary.:)
"1.How can something be "stolen" from public property [tree lawns, etc]"
Years ago, my car was stolen from the PUBLIC street. At least, I don't believe it drove itself away.
"2. How can something be "stolen" that was not purchased and has no value?"
My father gave me that car, I didn't pay anything for it. It was a rebuilt junker that nobody would have paid anything for.
Your response was disingenuous hyperbole.
I didn't think to check out the union web site. Thanks for the pic. I recognize that clown.
In nearby Chattanooga, politico's, by law, must take down their signs within a week or so after the election. A local talk show host, Jeff Styles, decided after about 3 weeks after an election that there were still a lot of signs up and in particular, a lot of a particular local politician's that had gotten re-elected. So, Jeff asked his listeners to collect the signs, bring them to the radio station and he would personally deliver them to city hall, which he did. A few days later the police came and arrested him, ON THE AIR, for littering! Charges were later dropped, but Jeff had a field day exposing the hypocrasy of the hole thing. What a bunch of maroons....
I always thought with technology today, it would be a snap to catch the a$$***es in the act. Inexpensive miniature video cameras and VCRs with "low light" capability are available all over the place. As well as motion sensors and flash units if necessary.
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