Email today from Miami Shores Council candidate Jesse Walters:
Several of our campaign yard signs were defaced overnight with anti-gay epithets. Photos of two are attached below.
I want to thank Councilman Steve Loffredo for coming over to our house this morning to tell me about it. He alerted us that the first sign was in the yard of his daughter's next door neighbor.
We then went out and found defaced signs at the corner of 96th Street and NE 6th Avenue and 94th St and NE 5th Ave.
If you see any additional signs, please let me know ASAP.
I am in the process of reporting these to the police.
It's hard to explain how unsettling something like this is until you experience it. Some folks are very scared by our campaign, but Miami Shores is not a place for this type of hate. This will only energize us more. I hope to see many of you today at the yard event at 1070 NE 96th. Street, from 3:00 to 4:15 PM. I could stand to see some friendly faces!
Jesse Walters
JESSE WALTERS FOR MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE COUNCIL
Thank you for reporting this. It is an outrage. All I can say is that such hatred is not representative of Miami Shores nor of the other very qualified candidates running in this election.
I am confident our excellent police force will apprehend whoever did this and makes sure it never happens again.
Posted by: Lance Harke | April 10, 2011 at 12:54 PM
I have no doubt that these are self-inflicted acts of vandalism meant to gain sympathy for a losing candidate.
Posted by: L.S. | April 10, 2011 at 01:30 PM
I never thought I would see the term sh!tlover in the Herald. Priceless!
Posted by: Frances | April 10, 2011 at 01:31 PM
Despicable. Is this on the local TV stations?
Posted by: Kenneth M. Koehn | April 10, 2011 at 03:44 PM
Defacing your own campaign signs to get the sympathy vote is the oldest campaign trick in the book. Just ask Mayor Pierre over in North Miami.
Shame on you, Jesse Walters!
Posted by: Hector | April 10, 2011 at 06:03 PM
These defaced signs seem to be too perfectly defaced....a piece of tape/paper. Really? Arent random acts of vandalism more random or do people genuinely take the time to write on a piece of tape/paper and paste it to signs now. Seems suspect to me and Im not buying it.
Posted by: chalojm | April 10, 2011 at 06:42 PM
Never heard of him. Is he republican or democrat? In any case,its a horrible thing to do and I hope they catch whoever is behind it.
Posted by: angela | April 10, 2011 at 06:51 PM
I do not live in Miami Shores, but I want to express my outrage about this type of ignorant, hateful behavior in this county and this country. The hatred expressed on your signs Mr. Walters should not be tolerated. It is a wonder we cannot get a control of bullying against children because some of these children have parents that have no place having the honor of living in our free society. Please forge ahead with your ideas for fresh, progressive change, and I wish you the best in your campaign.
Posted by: Karin | April 10, 2011 at 08:17 PM
and another thing....
Why is this story just in the "Gay South Florida" section as opposed to being on the front page of the Herald? Hatred is an issue that all of us need to address in Florida. This should be a front page story.
Posted by: Karin | April 10, 2011 at 09:53 PM
Wow... It's one thing to raise the possibility that it may have been done by the candidate himself, but how in the world do some of you reach a conclusion with any certainty that it was done by Walters himself or his campaign? Just based on your own pre-existing anti-gay bias perhaps, Hector & L.S.? And to chalojm, this was the furthest thing from a "random" act of vandalism. It was a very targeted and planned act.
Posted by: Dave | April 11, 2011 at 11:39 PM
Police have found 6 so far. The campaign sign on my yard was also defaced; towards midnite Saturday, my 80-lb german shepherd was growling and barking at the front window. I should have let her loose to deal with that trash.
Posted by: cabernet301 | April 12, 2011 at 03:05 PM