Suspected theft of Santa Barbara City Council campaign signs leads to possible charges

According to the Santa Barbara Police Department, a 43-year-old Santa Barbara resident has been identified as the possible suspect responsible for stealing Santa Barbara City Council ballot boards.

On October 21, 2024, the Santa Barbara Police Department received a report of the theft of local city council voting signs. A witness provided information that identified a resident as a possible suspect, Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Kushner said.

The witness found about twenty campaign signs.

The investigation has been referred to the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office to review possible charges relating to 484 PCs, theft, and 496 PCs, possession of stolen property.

The Santa Barbara Police Department has not identified the suspect or the specific candidate badges that were stolen, but confirmed the suspect is not in custody.

In a related story, Alejandra Gutierrez’s re-election campaign issued a press release last month stating that sign theft had again occurred on Santa Barbara’s Eastside.

Gutierrez is seeking to retain his current City Council member in District 1, representing the Eastside. Her challenger is Wendy Santamaria and Cruzito Herrera Cruz.

Gutierrez’s campaign said it has ordered hundreds of yard signs and placed them in the yards of its supporters, but is receiving “daily phone calls, messages and video evidence via Next Door” that the signs have been stolen and torn down while the other candidate’s signs are left behind alone.

In September, the campaign estimated that approximately 400 of the 500 signs had been stolen; theft for the amount of approximately PLN 4,000.

“We welcome and celebrate democracy, debate and conversation between neighbors on issues that affect us all. We believe in fair elections and support them wholeheartedly. Our campaign does not condone this behavior at any time. I hope that everyone who supports other candidates will do so without destroying the homes and businesses that have chosen to support our re-election campaign. May the best candidate win,” Alejandra Gutierrez said in a statement.

It is unclear at this time whether the Gutierrez campaign’s accusations last month are related to the police report regarding the theft of a political sign.

This is a developing story.