66.0°,
Mostly Cloudy Assembly candidate condemns stealing of signs
Sussman says more than 200 of his campaign signs have been stolen since Labor Day.
David Sussman, the Republican candidate for the 20th Assembly District, claims that over 200 of his “Sussman for Assembly” signs have been taken from fences and homes throughout the Five Towns since Labor Day.
Sussman, a 17-year veteran of the Lawrence Board of Education and a Lawrence resident, is seeking to unseat 23-year incumbent Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach). The candidate said the signs are valued in the thousands of dollars. The campaign signs range in size from 18" x 24" to 2' x 8' to 4' x 8'.
Representatives of Sussman’s campaign filed a police report at the 4th Precinct in Hewlett on Sept. 14. Then on Sept. 19, just days after the police opened an investigation into the matter, Sussman campaign workers discovered an additional dozen signs missing from a fence just across the street from the precinct building on Broadway
“We can’t say we know who is responsible for what we presume was a politically-motivated crime spree,” said Sussman campaign manager Avi Fertig. “But that they went so far as to steal a dozen more signs within spitting distance of the Fourth Precinct shows that whoever is behind these thefts was motivated by fear and desperation. This isn't just politics, it's cowardice.”
Based on information provided by Sanitation District 1 Commissioner Jim Vilardi, local sanitation crews have not yet found any trace of the stolen signs during regular garbage pickup. The Sussman campaign hopes the signs have not yet been discarded.
“We just received another 1,250 signs,” Fertig said, “so from a campaign perspective this incident is far more an inconvenience than a setback. But losing so many signs is a monumental and unjustified waste of contributors' money, which is why we strongly urge these criminals to come to their senses and return what they stole.”
Fertig said that several Five Towns homeowners whose signs were stolen from their front lawns have come forward to offer campaign officials an opportunity to carefully review footage taken from outdoor video surveillance cameras. The most promising lead may come from the owner of a surveillance system installation company, whose 24-hour surveillance system monitors all activity on his property, and plans to review his video footage upon his return from the Rosh Hashana holiday.
