Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs, who was running in the Nov. 8 election, received an email on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 9:25 a.m. from Julie Izen-Stein about a vandalized sign on her property:
Ms. Izen-Stein wrote, “Wanted to let you know, that the sign that was placed on my property months ago, was vandalized last night. The police came this morning to take a report.”
Legislator Jacobs responded, “They just leave me speechless. It’s totally unbelievable. Nothing stops them. Thank you for calling the police. That was so nice of you. I will clean up the area for you tonight.
“Wow… they are really impossible,” commented Ms. Jacobs of whoever is vandalizing election signs.
Ms. Jacobs’ signs on Route 106 were vandalized over the Nov. 5 and 6 weekend. Originally the signs for Legislator Jacobs and others running for office stood side by side. By Monday morning, Nov. 7, the Jacobs signs were down.
Sean Rainey, ENCA vice president said “It’s disgusting how the Town of Oyster Bay Councilwoman Rebecca Alesia signs remained up and whole while the Judy Jacobs signs were ripped in half and thrown on the ground.”
They originally stood side by side on the grassy median on Route 106. Other signs for Legislator Jacobs were disposed of differently.
Judy Jacobs said, “They took about 30 lawn signs and threw them in the street right in front of my house on Colgate Lane. I woke up Monday morning and went to get the newspaper and they were right there out in the street. My neighbors were looking out at them. My son-in-law picked them all up. I did not call the police.
“Actually, I was out at an event this morning [Nov. 7] and one of the inspectors from the Second Precinct was there and I told him about the signs being vandalized. He said to me, ‘I’m calling it in. This is ridiculous. It is your house. They made a concerted effort so you can see it.’
“It wasn’t like an anonymous act like just taking up signs. It’s goon-like tactics,” said Ms. Jacobs.
Editorially speaking, we have often heard about signs being taken down soon after they are put up during local elections. It’s like a subtext to elections locally and it gets to be “business as usual” and not commented on officially. Usually the incidents are not reported to the police and whoever does the deed goes un-chastised.
This year the vandalism appears to be extreme. It is a sad commentary on the discourse of politics in our country. There seems to be a desire to obliterate the opposition instead of accepting that there are other voices to be heard as we work toward forming this great democratic experiment.
Let’s not forget how lucky we are to be a country where differing opinions are welcome and respected and not let the politics of “slash and burn the opposition” dominate the country on a local, state and national level.
All in all, Ms. Jacobs must be doing a great job if her detractors are so anxious to remove her name from the political scene. Hopefully you will remember the attempt to cut her out of office in the recent Republican re-districting plan.
We hope the headlines in the Nov. 8 newspapers put Judy Jacobs on the list of top vote-getters. Ms. Jacobs came up the hard way – after years of being a civic leader. She is obviously someone who is making her mark on the Nassau County political scene.
– DFK
