Spokane Valley City Councilman Caleb Collier woke up to a rash of campaign sign vandalism Monday morning.

Several signs in the area around Barker and Flora Roads had been spray painted black, and some had been defaced with vulgarities and crude drawings of male genitalia.

Collier’s wife Jill Collier got the first call about a damaged sign early in the day while Caleb Collier was at work.

“I just sort of rolled my eyes and said ‘Thank you, we will come out and replace it,’” Jill Collier said.

But she quickly heard about more signs, including one that had been painted over with obscenities.

“It’s frustrating and upsetting to us,” Jill Collier said. “It’s obviously someone who politically disagrees with us.”

By Monday afternoon Caleb Collier said six smaller yard signs were gone or had been vandalized, and he was missing two larger signs.

One sign was in a private front yard. Caleb Collier said he finds it frightening that people will trespass to do this.

“There were other signs in the front yard, but it was just mine that was targeted,” he said.

Monday afternoon, Brandi Peetz, who’s challenging Collier for city council position 2, said her signs have been disappearing since she began putting them up two months ago.

Peetz said some social media posts accused her of being behind the destruction of Collier’s signs.

“I am so disgusted. I can’t believe anyone would insinuate that,” Peetz said. “No one on my campaign, or myself, has anything to do with destroying Caleb’s signs.”

Caleb Collier said no one on his campaign had accused Peetz of damaging his signs.

“I can’t control what other people write on social media,” Caleb Collier said.

Peetz said her sign was the only one cut down out of a cluster of campaign signs on 44th Avenue.

“Everyone else still had signs there,” Peetz said.

Peetz is a newcomer to Spokane Valley politics and this is her first run for office. She’s running on a non-partisan platform of community building and more support for law enforcement.

Caleb Collier has been recommended by the Spokane Republican Party and is running on a platform defending private property rights, opposing new taxes and limiting the size of government. He supported Spokane Valley Councilman Ed Pace’s proposal to explore splitting Eastern Washington from Western Washington to create a new state. He also proposed that Spokane Valley become a Second Amendment sanctuary city, protecting residents’ gun rights.

Collier said he planned to spend Monday evening repairing signs.

“I’m bringing extra zip ties and repair materials,” he said. “I’m going to check on everyone’s signs and make repairs. I want to pay it forward.”

Contact the writer:

(509) 459-5427

piah@spokesman.com