Zanesville Council Candidate Reacts to Stolen Campaign Sign

ZANESVILLE, Ohio — One Zanesville City Council member up for re-election in November says video that’s circulated online showing someone stealing one of her yard signs is sad to watch.

“I’m saddened if someone felt the need to express their political opinions this way. Whether it’s me or another candidate down the ticket, we live in a country where it’s beautiful because we have the ability to express our opinions politically without being oppressed,” Joey Osborn tells WHIZ News.

The video is date- and time-stamped Sunday, Oct. 6 and appears to show a man exiting his car and running across a street specifically to remove the sign.

We checked with Zanesville Police Chief Tony Coury about the matter.

“We wouldn’t typically charge with any more than a trespass or a petty theft. It would have to really be blatant, a car load of signs to catch a lot of charge. You know, the judge is an elected official, the prosecutors are elected officials, they spend a lot of money, there’s a lot of resources being spent to buy these signs. They don’t appreciate it, and I’m sure if you showed up in front of the judge for stealing election signs, he’s not going to be really happy with you,” Coury said.

Osborn says politics should be decided at the ballot box, not by ripping off any candidate’s political signs.