By CHARLES ROMERIL
charles@du2.byu.edu
A candidate for the Salt Lake County Commission admitted to taking down his opponent's campaign sign.
Republican candidate Mark Shurtleff removed a campaign sign that belonged to his opponent, Mike Reberg.
Shurtleff said he was driving home when he noticed one of his signs was missing. He looked across the street and noticed that his opponent had placed a sign on a post that belonged to Shurtleff.
'I got mad and thought, this isn't right; he is using my post,' Shurtleff said.
Shurtleff said he removed the sign from the pole and called the Reberg's campaign manager. Shurtleff said for weeks his signs have come up missing and his opponent's signs go up in their place.
'I have talked to his campaign manager. I just wanted my signs back,' Shurtleff said. 'I have lost over 100 signs.'
Sgt. Kevin Thacker of the Sandy police department, said a citizen saw Shurtleff remove the sign and reported the incident to the police.
'Someone saw a person tearing down a campaign sign and followed them and got their license plate number,' Thacker said. 'The owner of the vehicle was identified as Mr. Shurtleff.'
Reberg, the democratic candidate, said he has lost a lot of signs also. 'Everyone campaigning has lost signs. We deal with it by just putting up more,' he said.
Reberg said his campaign has placed about 2,000 signs and lost around 900. 'We spend too much time putting up our own signs. I don't have time to take any down.'
Reberg said he received exclusive permission to place his sign on the lot.
Sandy police have taken over the investigation. The city attorney will review the case before any action will take place.
Reberg said Shurtleff is trying to justify a lapse of judgement. 'A candidate for this position can't justify in plain daylight ripping down an opponent's sign.'
Reberg said Shurtleff called his house on the day of the incident and told him to stop taking down his signs.
Shurtleff said he hopes this will not detract from the real issues.
Shurtleff said the opponents sign is back on his post. He returned later to replace it. He said he has spent a lot of money on his signs and is concerned about those that are missing.