A feud over campaign signs broke out in North County between a District 1 candidate and an Oceanside resident.
Chuck Lowery is running for the District 1 seat on the San Diego City Council, and Rick Kirkowski could become one of his constituents.
The two disagree over Measure Y, which would protect farmland in the area from being developed into housing.
Kirkowski decided to take an old Lowery campaign sign and spray paint “NO NO” overtop of it to show his disapproval. He then posted a photo of it.
The Oceanside resident has many old campaign signs lying around his garage, because he uses them when he paints.
Lowery noticed the photo and came to remove the sign himself, according to Kirkowski.
Kirkowski was in his kitchen when he spotted the candidate in the act.
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This sparked the debate to whom the sign belongs.
“I yelled some choice words about it,” Kirkowski told NBC 7. “I said, ‘Don't be taking my sign.’”
Chuck Lowery is currently the deputy mayor of Oceanside.
His aide, Don Greene, refuted Kirkowski’s claims about the true owner of the sign.
“First of all Mr. Kirkowski is not correct. Campaign signs belong to and are private property of the campaign,” Greene said.
Ownership aside, the Oceanside resident was upset about how his sign was removed.
“There’s other methods,” Kirkowski said. “He could have called code enforcement, but for a city council member to just come out and pluck a sign out… it’s just not good.”
Greene said this “sign war” is common and happens every election season.
Lowery’s campaign insisted Kirkowski was the true “sign thief” in all of this.
Rick pledged to make 25 more “NO NO” signs to post by the end of Monday, the day before the election.
The Oceanside Police Department was called to investigate the alleged theft, though Lowery and his team don’t plan on taking additional action.
