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Illegally-sized residential campaign signs, over 4X(!) what is allowed.
Booby trapped campaign signs endangering city workers who are empowered to remove signs placed illegally.
City commission and committee members engaged in unlawful activities.
As if the outrageous amounts being spent by the right-wing PAC to influence our local council election werenβt enough, these actions further compromise the fairness of our local election process.
We are asking you to email the city and express your concerns about these issues; a list of emails is at the bottom.
Here is the email we sent to the city this morning.
Subject: Unethical and Unfair Campaign Tactic: Safe Chico Signs/City Committee Members Engaged in Unlawful Practices/Felony Booby Traps
Importance: HIGH
Good morning-
We are emailing this morning to ask that the city/code enforcement get involved, immediately, in the issue of illegal campaign signs, particularly those from Safe Chico, as well as look at the actions of individuals who serve on local commissions/committees and consider whether they should remain in those positions. I am also requesting that the Chico Police Department look into potential felony booby-trapping of campaign signs.
The βSafe Chicoβ signs are widespread in Chico, and are 4X the allowed size for residential campaign signs. As Iβm sure you all are aware, the cap on size of signs, per the City Campaign Sign Regulations is:
On residential property, up to four single-faced or double-faced signs not exceeding four square feet of surface area per sign face
We ALL know this β the ordinance hasnβt changed in years and is readily available, yet the βlaw and orderβ PAC ignores the law when it is convenient and has promoted the placement of these signs on residential properties. The prominence of these signs on residential properties throughout the community is an unfair and undue influence on our local election process. As if it wasnβt bad enough that this group has dumped over $200,000 to buy our local city council election, they are also knowingly promoting illegal placement of these signs. It is outrageous that this has been allowed, and something should have been done to stop it weeks ago.
We are requesting that the City of Chico and/or Code Enforcement contact Citizens for a Safe Chico and direct them to cease and desist from this activity, and further, to reach out to their supporters immediately and aggressively to request that all illegal signs be removed from residential properties. This action should not be taken in a way that minimizes their actions either, i.e., βlook, the jerks reported us,β but in a way that clarifies they have done the wrong thing by suggesting people could put those signs on residential properties, and taking responsibility for engaging in a practice that is unethical and unfair to all the other candidates and groups who do follow the rules.
If the city does not take action to stop this, you are putting the fairness of local elections in question, and possibly paving the way for a lawsuit.
Other unethical\unlawful practices and potential felonies:
Two of these pictures are on Jeffrey Glatzβ property. For anyone who doesnβt already know Jeffrey, he is a Parks Commissioner who lives across from the park on Woodland, and he is using the prominent position of his home, where thousands of people using the park pass by daily (people who arenβt afraid to be there, but never mind) and the illegal placement of signs to promote candidates (there is also a cap on the number of signs β see attached ordinance). I am confident Jeffrey knows the ordinance or should have no excuse not to, as all city council candidates are given this information and he ran in the 2018 cycle. This behavior is unacceptable from a man who serves on the parks commission, but then Jeffrey has always regarded the park as his own personal fiefdom; he had to be asked by an attendee at a Parks Commission meeting to stop letting his dog off the leash during on-leash hours because he wouldnβt comply when asked in person.
On the Police Ad Hoc Committee, Rob Berry, who has repeatedly sued the city, has continually violated the ordinance with his signage during this election season. Up to 8 city council signs have been present, and after repeatedly being asked by code enforcement to remove those signs, he has now removed some, but raised the others over the 6ft cap on residential signs, and apparently, booby-trapped them as well. If indeed there is a booby-trap in place, Rob may also have committed a felony. ( "Booby-Trap" Law) Someone who doesnβt care to follow the law when itβs inconvenient for him should never be on any city commission or committee, let alone someone who is willing to commit a potential felony.
Lastly, we are requesting that Chico PD address the βbooby-trapping of signs.β Aside from the one at Robβs house, I am including a pic of something similar over on Manzanita Ave. At the home on Manzanita, signs are also placed illegally, and as such are subject to removal by city work crews, per the ordinance. If city crews are harmed by these homeowners for simply enforcing the ordinance, the city will likely face major lawsuits, not to mention, as I read the law, placing booby traps is a felony. CPD should contact those engaged in this practice and mitigate ASAP; it also may be appropriate to put out a press release to the community at this time, clarifying the law.
These practices should have been mitigated earlier on; it may already be too late to protect the fairness of our election process as voting is well underway. Nonetheless, the city needs to take action and clarify that these practices are illegal and unacceptable, and act immediately to safeguard the fairness of our election going forward.
