O'Donnell supporter miffed by disappearance of signs
It’s not exactly trying to “steal the election,” but the removal of a couple political signs supporting Erica O'Donnell in her bid for an at-large seat on Batavia City Council has an Ellicott Street resident hopping mad.
Diana Kastenbaum is reporting that both of her O'Donnell for City Council yard signs – one on Ellicott and one on Richmond Avenue -- were stolen in the last 24 hours.
“And it’s not even Halloween yet,” she stated in an email to The Batavian.
O’Donnell is the lone Democratic Party candidate in a four-person race for three at-large positions. She is running against incumbent Republicans Eugene Jankowski Jr., Robert Bialkowski and Jeremy Karas.
“The Republican signs for Council are all still standing on Ellicott. This has happened in the past to Dem signs, but not the Republicans signs in the City of Batavia,” Kastenbaum said.
“Someone left a note in my mailbox today to say Erica's signs were no longer in my front yard. I didn't notice if they were there this morning, but when I came home from work only the stakes were left. Of course, I will replace them, but every year we have to deal with this nonsense and no one seems to do anything about it.”
When informed of Kastenbaum’s predicament, Jankowski said he could understand why she would be annoyed.
“I don’t understand what people gain by that,” he said. “I know that in past elections, a few of my signs went missing.”
He also theorized that it could be an O’Donnell supporter who wanted a sign to put up somewhere else.
“I mean, in a couple of days, they’ll all be coming down so if you want one, just ask and you can get one for free,” he said.
Assistant Police Chief Chris Camp said that the Batavia PD has received no reports of political signs being removed from yards in the city thus far this election season.
