Lawn sign theft in Summerland: do you recognize this vehicle?
A good friend of mine lives in the Giant’s Head area of Summerland. Last night his security cameras captured someone stealing lawn signs for candidate Brad Besler.
Full disclosure: I have never met or spoken with Mr. Besler, and this post is not an endorsement.
That said, it makes me stop and think when someone feels the need to steal a candidate’s signs. Nobody bothers to steal signs from a candidate with no chance. Dozens of his signs were removed from around town last night, which suggests that someone is worried about him.
To whoever took these signs: you have been caught. The first images below show the vehicle and the person. Someone will recognize them. More detailed stills from the raw footage are coming.
My advice to the person responsible is this: the cover-up is often worse than the crime. Return the signs and apologize to Mr. Besler. You will be identified sooner or later, so do the right thing and make it right.
If you recognize the vehicle or the person, please contact me or the Summerland RCMP detachment.
Until the new RAW digital video arrives, here is the best guess so far on vehicle make, model and year.
The shape most resembles a mid-2000s to early-2010s American or Asian compact sedan. In order of how well they seem to match:
- Mazda3 sedan, Hyundai Elantra, or Dodge Avenger (roughly 2007–2013).
- Chevrolet Cobalt or Pontiac G5 (roughly 2005–2010).
- Pontiac G6 or Chevrolet Malibu (roughly 2005–2012).
This story was interesting. As I mentioned in the article, I don’t know Brad. I reached out to him about ten months ago and never heard back, so I can’t speak to him personally.
I have since learned that he lost a defamation suit against the Mayor and was ordered to pay costs, and that the legal disputes have cost the district almost $370,000. I want to hold government as accountable as anyone does, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
My approach to accountability is not a vitriolic attack on office holders. It is a system that leaves a traceable record, so citizens can see what is being considered at every step. We don’t have to be an attack vector for municipal politics. We can act as a careful check, making sure the best possible decisions are made. We also don’t need to sue people. When you sue the government, you are suing yourself.
I also saw the sign controversy around Besler’s campaign on Facebook, and I understand the sign was taken down today. He may sincerely want to improve things, but that episode makes me concerned about how effectively he would govern.
Summerland needs good governance, and it needs a process that limits agenda-driven politics. The mayor and council should be able to justify every move they make. That is not a hostile control. It is a safeguard that protects them as well as us.
Citizens should stop attacking the mayor and council every time they speak. There is a better way. If anyone on council is pursuing a hidden agenda, a transparent system will expose it, and we won’t need to launch attacks.
I am testing this approach in other municipalities, and it is working.