Sign wars: Divisive campaigns cause rift in Arroyo Grande

The race for Arroyo Grande City Council and mayor has most residents choosing between two very clear tickets this November, with the majority of the council and mayoral candidates falling into the two distinct camps.

On one hand is incumbent Mayor Jim Hill, who is closely aligned with Planning Commissioner John Mack and college adviser LeAnn Akins, both running for City Council. On the other is retired teacher Richard Waller challenging Hill for the mayoral seat, coupled with former San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Caren Ray and incumbent Councilwoman Kristen Barneich vying for the two open council seats.

Meanwhile, Ken Sage has so far run a relatively quiet, mostly unaligned campaign for City Council. Sage did not respond to requests for comment as of Friday.

Some say the division between the candidates has likewise sparked a “rift in civility” in the town, with reports of missing and damaged campaign signs topping the list of complaints.

The two camps chiefly butt heads over water and development — the Hill-Mack-Akins group has in general championed an immediate moratorium to help preserve the city’s water supply, for instance, while the second has tended to urge caution before taking that step. The groups also differ on city staff issues and the decision to fire former City Manager Dianne Thompson. Waller and Ray, particularly, have called for more civility on the council.

Much of the fighting among the candidates’ supporters takes place online, with heated debates over platforms, decisions and behavior dominating Facebook groups such as “Arroyo Grande Current Affairs.”

That tension has now spilled over from the online world onto local lawns.

Since the election began, all of the candidates but Sage have had to replace campaign signs that have been damaged, stolen or tampered with — and some are quick to point to the election’s vitriolic rhetoric between the two camps as the likely cause.

“We have a serious rift of civility in this town right now,” said Village resident Ronnit Shanny, whose “Vote John Mack for City Council” sign was taken off its stake in her front yard and thrown aside earlier this month. Her signs for Mayor Jim Hill and council candidate LeAnn Akins were left in tact, though signs for Akins’ were later damaged as well.

“All I know is, I’m very involved in the campaign and find it very frustrating to see people behave in such a manner,” Shanny said.

The behavior isn’t surprising — reports of stolen or missing campaign signs happen in nearly every election. Sometimes the answer to why the signs go missing isn’t nefarious: They could have been placed on private property without permission, damaged by weather and or even taken out by homeless individuals using the signs as kindling.

But for some like Akins, who has had to replace more than 50 of her purple-and-yellow signs since the election began, the signs point to a deeper problem in Arroyo Grande.

“Maybe I am a threat — maybe my campaign is viable and on track for a positive outcome in this election,” Akins said. “I know that I will represent a larger cross-section of the city, maybe that is what people are afraid of.”

For Ray, the signs she’s had to replace “almost daily” isn’t the problem — her bigger concern is why it is happening.

“I think it points to the toxic environment in A.G. right now, and this is one of the main reasons I am running,” she said. “I am standing up for consensus-based, nonpartisan leadership and a calming effect on the tone in our city. I hope voters demand this with their vote.”

Mack said he’s also had trouble with missing and damaged signs, especially in front of businesses like his lawyer’s office, where a sign was taken off its stakes despite being attached with steel screws and washers.

“It wasn’t blown down by the wind is what I’m trying to say,” he said.

Mack also has heard from business renters whose landlords have asked them to remove their “Vote John Mack” signs because the landlord disagreed with the sentiment. (This is legal according to city municipal code, which dictates that the property owner must give permission for a temporary political sign to appear on their land.)

Though all of the council and mayoral candidates have experienced problems with signs going missing or being damaged, most write it off as a common election occurrence.

“It hasn’t been a big deal,” Waller said, noting he has replaced less than 10 signs to date. Hill, who has had to replace about 20 missing or damaged signs, also said he didn’t think it was out of the usual.

“You never know what is going on with signs,” Hill said. “It just is what it is. It’s part of the process, and you try to account for it.”

Barneich, who has had to replace about 10 signs, is urging people not to mess with campaign paraphernalia.

“Even though we don’t always agree with each other, we need to remain respectful and civil,” she said. “Unfortunately, it is a contentious environment right now.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Sign wars: Divisive campaigns cause rift in Arroyo Grande."