September 19, 2022 • 13 hours ago • 2 minutes read • 18 comments Ward 11 candidate Jeremy McCall holds a defaced election sign in London on Monday, September 19, 2022. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press

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Joy McCall was returning from a night shift at the hospital Sunday morning when she noticed black smudges on one of her husband’s campaign signs.

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He brought it home and put it in the family garage. Later, when Jeremy McCall examined the damage, he noticed words etched into his signs, including Jimmy McTard and autismaloid. Subscribe to receive a curated collection of links and highlights from our award-winning breaking news coverage, in-depth analysis and unparalleled investigative weekday features. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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“When I realized they wrote offensive things about disabled people. . . To know that this is a targeted attack on vulnerable people, that makes me really disappointed,” McCall said Monday. “This is really beyond the pale.” He said he reported the damage to police because some of the scribbles were written on his neck like a rope or razor blade. “(It really) made me feel strongly both as a candidate and as a resident and as a father that there has to be a line somewhere,” McCall said. The Ward 11 candidate said he has about 120 polling signs across the south London ward which stretches south from Horton Street to Commissioners Road and west to roughly between Wellington and Wonderland streets. On the same day his sign was defaced, McCall said another was kicked and received a message on social media accusing him of breaking London’s electoral law.

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I’ve campaigned on the idea that it’s time for a change in Ward 11. Someone had the audacity to write a slur against the differently abled and cut my throat and get radio silenced by community leaders. I think I might be right….#ldnvotes pic.twitter.com/eKu1kSeLtL — Jeremy McCall (@jmccall54) September 19, 2022
Sign wars are a persistent problem in elections, including vinyl banners being lost to wind or theft. Darker attacks, including some apparently fueled by racism, have been a reality for London council candidates of color in several campaigns. For applicants, defaced, damaged or stolen license plates create another, more practical problem: cost. Campaign signs are expensive – especially with recent supply chain issues driving up the price of materials like the Coroplast plastic sign – and, in some cases, replacements are simply out of reach.

Ward 1 candidate Ryan Cadden said he could only afford to buy 10 signs. The bid he got for 25, close to $1,000, was beyond the means of his self-funded campaign, he said.

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Cadden said he doesn’t take campaign donations because he knows residents in his ward have been hit hard by inflation. “I am not a career politician. I want to . . . take the real issues to city hall. One. . . right now it’s inflation and the cost of living,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right for politicians to . . . ask people for money when almost everyone is struggling to make ends meet.” Campaign signs remain popular despite cost, risk of vandalism and other issues. Some municipalities, for example, prohibit signs along major roads, but even in those cases, voters can place lawn signs on their own properties. Every day, Cadden goes out to make sure his marks are still up. He has already lost one and the other nine need daily adjustment. “To lose those signs and often not be able to replace them, it really hurts,” he said. “I know another person in our ward went to make cardboard signs because of the cost.” [email protected] twitter.com/MeganatLFPress

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