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Jackson County Democratic Party says office vandalized, supporters’ lawn signs stolen

The Jackson County Democratic Party reports frequent theft of Kamala Harris candidate signs in the Rogue Valley.
Elvert Barnes
/
Wikimedia Commons
The Jackson County Democratic Party reports frequent theft of Kamala Harris candidate signs in the Rogue Valley.

Jackson County Democratic Party officials say their office has faced vandalism while party supporters report frequent theft of lawn signs. Local Democrats and Republicans have called to keep things civil as tensions rise this election season.

In early September, volunteers at the Democratic Party’s Medford office say they found fliers glued to their windows depicting presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a camel.

Party Chairman David Sours, who called the fliers racist, said he isn’t blaming any person or party but takes the act seriously.

“I don't think it was a prank,” said Sours. “I think it was somebody letting us know, ‘We're aware that you're here, and you might want to watch your back.’ That's how I took it.”

Sours said his office also gets up to four reports of stolen Democratic candidate yard signs per day. Recently, they found a pile of discarded signs in a ditch. He said it’s a troubling trend.

“To say tension is elevated in this election is an understatement,” Sours said . “But that doesn't mean we can't take a breath, pause and collect our senses. We have choices about how we respond when we get caught up and we get tense.”

He said two incident reports were filed with the Medford Police Department related to the fliers and missing signs.

Jackson County Republican Party Chairman Randell Embertson condemned any vandalism or theft directed against political rivals.

“We hope people behave themselves and voice their opinions with their words in community debate and dialog rather than harming property,” Emberston said.

He said he’s also noticed an increase in reports of missing Republican candidate signs compared to the last election. His party’s Medford office has been vandalized multiple times in the past, including having its windows broken in 2019.

But Emberston said, overall, the political culture in Southern Oregon is relatively respectful.

“We do live in a good community,” he said. “I noticed that people are more actually wanting to get together in a civil way, have fun and listen to some music and also discuss differences and where they might be able to meet in the middle.”

He said that willingness for dialogue has also increased this election season.

Justin Higginbottom is a regional reporter for Jefferson Public Radio. He's worked in print and radio journalism in Utah as well as abroad with stints in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. He spent a year reporting on the Myanmar civil war and has contributed to NPR, CNBC and Deutsche Welle (Germany’s public media organization).