Someone's trying to send a sign to Alachua County Sheriff candidate Capt. Lonnie Scott -by stealing his.
Scott, who is running against Sheriff Sadie Darnell in the August primary election, said almost 30 of his campaign signs have disappeared along Northwest 91st Street during the last four weeks.
Each sign costs Scott's campaign almost $5, he said.
Scott has alerted the sheriff's office about the thefts, but he said there have been no leads as to the identity of the thief.
"I'm sure it's a passionate supporter gone awry," he said. "But this type of activity is un-American. It's a suppression of free speech."
The signs have been wrenched from lawns, fences and trees of private homes.
Frances Cirulli, an 80-year-old resident who lives on Northwest 91st Street, has replaced her signs six times.
"I feel like I've been invaded," said Cirulli, who first noticed a sign missing three weeks ago. "It's my privilege to display who I'm voting for. It's my constitutional right."
Scott's son, Lonnie Scott Jr., is working on the campaign and said the thefts are not harming Scott in his run for sheriff.
"Obviously, someone thinks we're viable competition," Scott Jr. said. "You can steal our signs, but you can't steal our votes."
