There is not a politician in this city running for election who has not had his signs torn down by opponents or their overzealous supporters in the hope of making their political bid for public office successful.
No one in the history of this city has put up more signs than former rep and present Councilor at Large Wayne Matewsky.
And there is no political candidate in this city who has had more signs torn down or ripped to shreds than Matewsky.
Ask Matewsky and he will tell everyone: “It goes with the territory.” Indeed.
The sign wars are not restricted to one candidate or another.
The sign wars affect everyone running.
Recent questionable charges made by a Everett woman claiming Councilor Mike McLaughlin tore down two signs in her yard last summer are emblematic of how foolish the charges are now becoming as the election is winding down to a close.
Why, we wonder, did this woman wait to announce this when it happened sometime last July?
It is now the middle of October.
Obviously, McLaughlin’s opponent and his supporters, who include the mayor and his chief sign person, Councilor Anthony DiPierro, are delighted at such charges being lodged against McLaughlin.
We trust and we hope the mayor’s forces are not aiding in contriving such charges, as the mayor’s sign people are not all above the law when
it comes to tearing down signs of candidates not supported by the boss. It is not yet here, but there will come a time when the ocean of signs plastered publicly all over this city during election time will no longer be allowed.
That time is not now – but it is coming.
Signs are placed where they are not wanted.
They are torn down late at night.
They overlap one another.
They sometimes appear next to one another showing the truly bi-polar nature of political signage.
How else does one explain a McLaughlin sign right next to a Lattanzi sign?
McLaughlin is no more a sign thief or destroyer of signs than any one else playing this game at election time.
We know for a fact McLaughlin’s signs have been torn down five or six at a time during the course of this campaign.
Attempting to ruin McLaughlin’s reputation months after an alleged sign event is typical of how efforts are going to be made to ruin his reputation as well as the reputations of others who are running due to the ongoing sign war.
Let’s pay attention to political stands and public comments and leave the signs to the wind.