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Valley Telegraph

Legal Trouble for the OD Harris Campaign in Chandler?

Disappearing and damaged campaign signs critical of Harris may be catching up with the Chandler Councilman's political campaign.



Vote Out OD Harris, a grassroots campaign who aimed to prevent OD Harris from getting re-elected to the Chandler City Council, has reported that their campaign signs appeared to systematically disappear from the streets of Chandler in the run up to the July 31, 2024 primary election, often within a day or two after being placed.


They have produced the below video highlighting some of the disappearances, and further told us that so many of their signs disappeared, they estimate more than 60 in total, large and small, that they could not keep up. They feel that their message could not effectively get out due to the disappearances of their signs.




Reporting from AZ Central (archived link) seems to indicate that Chandler PD, handing off to Scottsdale authorities to avoid a conflict of interest, may be on to the Harris campaign after a witness had filed a police report. Said witness appears to have seen how signs were taken by individuals that may be connected to the Harris campaign.


From AZ Central:


Chandler police allege that Harris and his wife, Elizabeth Ward, damaged at least one of those signs near Hearthstone Way and Chandler Boulevard on July 28. Harris easily won reelection two days later.


But now he and his wife could face charges of damaging a political sign. Police have referred the matter to Scottsdale authorities for prosecution. “Based on … witness statements, video surveillance, and Harris' statements, there is probable cause OD Harris and Elizabeth Ward were involved in the damage of a political sign,” Chandler Police Detective Ryan Kotsur wrote in his Sept. 25 report on the incident.


The police report is here.


Below is a video that appears to show two women ripping up signs.


The witness says she took some of the ripped up signs, as evidence, as the picture below shows. These signs are of the smaller variety and were made by the campaign in low cost DIY fashion after virtually all of their larger signs had already disappeared. The ripped up signs appear to say "Stolen Valor, Vote Out OD Harris" referring perhaps to OD Harris' apparently dubious claims about his military record.




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