Vandal damages several of Portsmouth mayoral candidate’s campaign signs

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Political races can get ugly but in Portsmouth, the race for Portsmouth mayor turned destructive.

Someone damaged several campaign signs across the city that belong to mayoral candidate Tony Goodwin.

Goodwin told 10 On Your Side he’s been running a positive campaign, and he’s considered the underdog in the race so he’s not sure why he’s being targeted.

Whoever did it may have been caught on camera.

From downtown to the Churchland area of the city, the unknown vandal made sure to leave their mark on Goodwin’s campaign.

“This is so intentional that basically someone had to stop their car, come out with a box cutter, cut the sign, cut the wire and come on to a homeowner’s private property to do this,” Goodwin said. 

Goodwin found 10 of his large signs in pieces Tuesday night. It happened sometime before 9 p.m. and the culprit moved quickly, hitting signs in busy areas and even going onto people’s front yards.

“This is my property and this is my choice,” said Sherry Meyer. Her sign in support of Goodwin was one that was damaged. 

“There’s no reason for people to be that immature that they’re going around and taking down other people’s signs,” she said.

The damaged signs are worth about $1,000. Goodwin’s campaign manager, Marcus Calabrese, said he’s worked on other political races before, but this is a first.

“I’ve seen my share of political drama but to see that someone would be so deliberate about so many signs and at one time, to have such an organized effort, I’ve never seen anything like that,” Calabrese said. 

The person responsible may have been caught in the act. A business owner off High Street said his cameras point toward his damaged sign so he’ll be reviewing the footage.

Goodwin plans to file a police report but in the meantime, he said he’s focused on winning the election and uniting the city.

“This doesn’t have to be Portsmouth politics,” he said. “We will continue to spread a positive message saying that we are here to be part of that solution.”

Portsmouth police tell 10 On Your Side the crime falls under petty larceny with a possible $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail.

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