Democratic state Sen. Mike Tipping of Penobscot County had a plywood sign stolen, broken and left in the woods on the outskirts of town. (Photo courtesy of Mike Tipping)
On Tuesday night, Matt Powers, an Orono city councilman, and his wife were walking down Main Street at night when he saw a Black pickup truck stop by his neighbor’s house on the other side of the street. One person got out of the truck, grabbed a Harris-Walz lawn sign from his neighbor’s yard and drove away, Powers said.
The next morning, all yard signs supporting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, were gone from one side of Main Street and a few others throughout Orono.
Thousands of stolen yard signs have been reported across the country, and dozens in other Maine communities in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 election. Residents in a few Camden neighborhoods complained to the Camden police department about several stolen Harris-Walz signs, Chief Randy Gagne told the PenBay Pilot. An Arundel resident wrote a letter published in the Portland Press Herald after having his sign stolen.
And in late August a video circulated showing two people in Dixmont wrapping a chain around a wooden Harris-Walz sign and using a truck to pull it off the trees it was nailed to.
Democratic state Sen. Mike Tipping of Penobscot County had a plywood sign stolen, broken and left in the woods on the outskirts of town. The sign had been anchored with large oak stakes that were snapped off, he said. The theft and destruction of the large wooden sign, Tipping said, was “quite a statement.”
“But to me, it’s a symbol of the anger that exists in our politics right now, and that’s really troubling,” said Tipping, an Orono resident running against Republican Leo Kenney for his second term in the Maine Legislature. “I’m focused on trying to actually get things done which requires bringing people together and working across differences, and that’s not helped as the temperature rises.”
Kenney did not respond to a request for comment by publication.
Powers has had signs supporting beliefs including LGBTQ+ rights, trusting science and welcoming diversity stolen from his yard in previous election years, he said. But he agreed with Tipping that anger in politics is driving local acts of vandalism.
“I think in a way, it’s sort of to be expected, just because of how horrible the national rhetoric that’s going around right now is,” he said.
Will Parmacek, executive director of the Maine Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, which works to get Democratic legislators elected, said all candidates “can all agree that acts of vandalism and theft have no place in our political discourse.”
In Maine, stealing lawn signs is illegal, and can be punishable in several different ways, according to state laws. Signs stolen or defaced from public places can be charged with a civil infraction with a fine up to $250. Stealing from private property is a class E crime; a misdemeanor offense that carries a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
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