Mukilteo Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

As with any political season, campaign signs are going to get removed, knocked over, snapped, thrown away, and so on.

The first target of that behavior was Peter Zieve, who is running for Mukilteo City Council Position 6.

Zieve isn’t a stranger to Mukilteo politics, having run unsuccessfully for City Council in 2017 against Bob Champion in a fairly accusatory and personal campaign.

Zieve, who owns Electroimpact in Harbour Pointe, said he returned from a business trip and was putting signs out in the Harbour Pointe area around 2 a.m. Saturday. The next morning, some of the signs had been cut top to bottom close to the sign’s stick.

“I put out a total of 10 signs over the weekend, and at least five of them have been cut so far,” Zieve told The Beacon. “I had two close to Baycourt (Apartments), and those were cut close to the stick. They were really sliced.”

Zieve said the signs near Baycourt, as well as other signs in Harbour Pointe, had been cut in a similar fashion.

“It’s just strange to do,” he said. “The traditional (things you see done to campaign signs) in Mukilteo are them getting knocked over, put in the bushes, or snapping the stick.”

In one instance, Zieve replaced a sign on the corner of Chennault Beach Road and Harbour Pointe Boulevard near the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 2 a.m. Sunday, only to see that new sign cut when he was driving past at 7 a.m.

“It’s as if someone is monitoring that corner,” Zieve said. “The further you get from Baycourt, the signs all seem to be fine.”

There were also three signs on Mukilteo Speedway that were cut – two near QFC and one by Starbucks.

“I’m just shocked more so by the way they did it,” Zieve said. “What kind of weapon were they carrying to cut through the material like that? I just don’t really know what to make of all this.”

Zieve said his gut reaction for who may have damaged his signs was looking at his opponents. He is facing off with Elisabeth Crawford and Exekiel Aranez. Both Crawford and Aranez are first-time candidates in Mukilteo, while Zieve ran in 2017.

Zieve said he didn’t think Crawford or anyone affiliated with her would do anything to his signs, but said he didn’t know much about Aranez, except that he lives close to where the signs had been tampered with.

“He could be the nicest guy in the world, and he very well may be. I just don’t know him,” Zieve said.

When contacted by The Beacon, Aranez said he had nothing to do with damage to the signs, and that he was sad to see that happen.

“I hope that we learn who did it,” Aranez said. “I’m sorry to hear that happened to Peter. I drove past it on my way to work and I felt bad. I don’t know who would do such a thing.”

Per Washington state law, each instance of removing or defacing legally placed political advertising, like yard signs and billboards, is a misdemeanor punishable by 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Mukilteo Police Chief Cheol Kang said the department receives complaints a lot during election seasons, and that they will investigate any reports submitted. He also wanted citizens candidates to be civil throughout the election cycle.

“We want everyone to be respectful and courteous of an individual’s right to freedom of speech, as well as to respect their property,” Kang said. “Damaged property will be investigated as we would with any other crime in the city when reported, and we ask that everyone be civil and respectful.”

Mukilteo resident Chris Beard emailed The Beacon this weekend that he saw Zieve’s signs had been damaged.

Beard said the damage to the signs, especially in this manner, is a disservice to democracy. He said he also saw some of Position 5 candidate James Yoo’s signs had been “uprooted and thrown to the ground”

“I do not know these candidates; I do not know if I will vote for them,” Beard said. “I do know that they have the right to run for office in this city, to place political signage in public thoroughfares and to expect that their signs will be respected as a form of free political speech.

“Those who disagree with them should argue with their own signage, campaigning and/or votes.”

Beard also had a challenge to his fellow Mukilteo citizens.

“If you see someone acting in such a manner, say something and stand up for your own freedom of speech and dissent. The next freedom removed may be one you value.”

(To read all of Beard’s thoughts on this, see “Letters to the Editor” on page 4).

@Shades of 2017@

During the 2017 Mukilteo election season, someone, or a group of people, went to various campaign signs and spray painted phrases in support of President Donald Trump such as “Build The Wall” and “Trump 2020.”

The incident took place August 2017, and as reported in the Aug. 30 edition of the Mukilteo Beacon, signs for the three City Council campaigns, as well as the mayoral race, were defaced for all candidates except for Zieve, who incidentally donated $1 million to Trump’s 2016 election campaign.

“I can’t even imagine who would do that,” Zieve said at the time. “Whoever it is, shame on you. You are not doing your message or your ideology any good. Breaking, stealing, spray painting – all of that is unacceptable.”