Anchorage mayoral candidate Amy Demboski's campaign reported to police on Friday a spate of vandalism to campaign signs.
A Demboski campaign staffer told police at least 18 large signs were damaged between Chugiak and Anchorage this week. One had apparently been set on fire, said Anchorage police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro.
Demboski said the damage also included someone crossing out her face in red paint and cutting her face and name out of a sign entirely. Someone made what appeared to be a collage made up of yellow and blue "Amy Demboski Mayor" signs. The collage was covered with the words "Know Who You Are Voting For" written in white marker, and a picture of Demboski was crossed out in red in the middle.
"The creepiest one is the collage," Demboski wrote in a message to a reporter.
Complaints about sign vandalism usually intensify in the waning days of an election, along with complaints about illegal sign placement -- if a sign is not located on someone's private property with permission, it is probably placed illegally in state or municipal right of way, said Jill Reese, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
Reese said it had been a "challenging year" for mayoral candidates on that front -- she said some candidates had even placed signs on state moose fences. But Rich Fern, lead enforcement officer for the municipality's land use enforcement office, said it's been a "very quiet year" for complaints about illegally placed signs.
Among the leading candidates, reports of vandalism were widespread. Candidate Dan Coffey wrote in an email Friday that his campaign noted "several instances" of vandalism on campaign signs.
Carrigan Grigsby, campaign manager for Andrew Halcro, said the same, the worst of which was a spray-painted message to Vladimir Putin on the back of one sign.
Nora Morse, communications director for Ethan Berkowitz, said several of the campaign's signs were knocked down and some supporters said their signs were stolen.
But Demboski's appear to be the most targeted and extensively manipulated. Demboski said her campaign started noticing vandalism in the last week -- including moustachioed versions of her face -- but it has "significantly intensified" in recent days.
"(Thursday) night was extremely more noticeable," Demboski said.
Demboski said she doesn't know who is responsible. She said the campaign took a picture of a woman tipping over a large 4-foot-by-8-foot sign.
Demboski said her campaign is still estimating the cost of the damage. She said the signs are expensive.
She also said that as far as she knew, the signs had been placed in front of businesses or on private property with permission. One damaged sign was located near Ronnie Sushi in Muldoon, and another was placed on a fence at 36th Avenue and the Seward Highway, she said.
Demboski said she is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who offers information leading to the arrest of a sign vandal.