Politics & Government

Council Candidates Trade Accusations Over Signs

Accusations of malicious sign placement, theft of signs alleged

Two candidates for Toms River Township council have accused each other of interfering with the other's political signs, though both say they'd rather be debating more substantive issues.

Paul Brush, the Democratic candidate for Ward 2, made the first accusation when he said in an e-mail to Toms River Patch that signs supporting his opponent, Republican Brian Kubiel, were placed in such a way that they blocked his own from public view.

Brush provided several photographs that show his signs boxed in from view by signs supporting Kubiel.

Kubiel, however, said his campaign team received instruction not to block anyone else's signs, and floated the idea that the photographs could be just a ruse.

"I can’t be certain that his team didn’t do it themselves to bring up something other than his dismal political record," said Kubiel. "The worst part about it is that I have real issues to talk about, not signs."

Kubiel also said members of his campaign confronted someone in a van with a Brush sticker on the back taking his signs out of the ground. The people in the van eventually gave the signs back, and police were not called.

Brush said he noticed the "outrageous" sign placement outside of the Greenbriar Woodlands development.

"It’s bad enough the lies he is spreading about me that they have to cover our signs too?" Brush said.

Though ethics would dictate that political opponents should not cover up each other's signs, it would not be illegal for a candidate to do so.

The only regulations included in Toms River's municipal ordinance on political signage are that signs may be displayed 30 days before an election to five days after, and may not be placed on any telephone pole, utility pole or light standards, or in the public right-of-way of a road.


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