PC candidate loses dozens of election signs to vandals

One was thrown in a river, others were chopped in half. In total, Tory Glenn Littlejohn says about 40 of his election signs have been vandalized.

On Saturday evening, his blue and white signs were damaged in many communities in the district of Harbour Grace - Port de Grave. Photos show Liberal candidate Pam Parsons' signs untouched.

"It's unfortunate, it's damage to the environment. It goes on every election campaign and there's no need. We have to stop," Littlejohn said Monday.

Littlejohn, who served one term as MHA before being unseated by Parsons, says the plastic signs end up in waterways and the harbour.

"We have enough garbage in our environment already."

Time to do away with signs?

Littlejohn isn't the only candidate facing vandalism and sign theft — it seems to be an inevitable part of election campaigns. 

In Mount Pearl North, Liberal candidate Nicole Kieley was in search of her missing campaign signs.

She posted on Twitter that about 50 of her signs were damaged or missing. 

Given the push to ban plastic, should candidates veer away from using signage to attract voters?

Littlejohn suspects signage will always be part of the campaign process, but it's about what you do with it after that matters.

In his case, Littlejohn says he donates signs to schools to use to make robotics and for art projects.

He suspects the damaged signs cost about $400-500 once you factor in the materials used to make the signage.