By SAVANNAH ROGERS
Staff Writer

Disappearing political campaign signs in Peachtree City are frustrating supporters and candidates alike. Rumors that a city truck was involved has heightened emotions.

Jim Groat, who owns American Sport Tees on Huddleston Road, estimates 80 signs on private property along that road alone, between Ga. Highway 54 and Paschall Road, were removed two days before the last election, including the sign supporting Dan Lakly that was on his property.

"It made us very angry," Groat said this week. "We went to the trouble to get the signs placed here.

"We don't know who did it," he noted, "but everyone around here suspects it's the city. But of course, the city knows nothing."

"This is my first experience ever with signs being pulled," said another Lakly supporter, E.A. Gresham, who has had signs in his yard before.

He noticed the sign in his yard, in the Fisher's Bank subdivision off Peachtree Parkway, was missing Thursday evening. He looked across the street and discovered his neighbor's was suddenly gone as well. "My neighbor got really upset," he said. Gresham called city staff the next day full of questions.

"There were one or two people who saw a city truck" removing signs, he said. "But we really don't know who it was ... whether pranksters or somebody from the opposition.

"Fact number one is that a lot of signs were pulled," Gresham said. "Fact number two is that we don't know who did it."

Whoever the culprit was apparently did not discriminate between candidates, as signs for many different people were missing along Huddleston Road.

"All mine are missing on that street," said runoff candidate Fred Brown Jr. "I have been replacing signs and putting up new ones all along."

He said he never had any signs disappear when he ran for office in the past.

Brown noted he is not blaming anyone or pointing any fingers. "My guess is people were sent out to mow, and the mowers took them down." He added that usually if that happens, however, the mowers just lay the signs down. "But this time, they were not just laying down, they were completely missing."

Lakly also said he isn't placing blame. "I'm disappointed that those things happen, but it happens to everyone," he said. "I'm not going to whine about it, but I think it's wrong."

He noted that replacing the signs can get expensive. "I have more, and I will start putting more up. It's just like planting tomatoes in my garden you put out more than you need, for the bugs.

"People ought to be a little more tolerant and understanding," Lakly added. "I don't like [campaign signs] any more than anyone else, but that's the process."

"There's nothing here that's mowed by Public Works," Groat said, "and those signs definitely weren't in the right of way. They were 20 feet from the curb."

Code Enforcement Officer Tami Babb said this week that Public Works employees, including mowers, were instructed this year not to touch the political signs. Babb, Building Official Tom Carty and the Police Department are the only ones authorized to remove illegally placed signs. Babb noted the police usually only deal with signs along the major highways.

The city's sign ordinance states that political signs may not be placed on city right of way or in a greenbelt. City Public Information Specialist Betsy Tyler noted right of way on residential streets extends about 10 feet into front yards. Signs also cannot be placed in medians or where they are visible 200 feet of Hwy. 54 or Ga. Highway 74.

While campaign signs must be removed within 48 hours after an election, the runoff candidates' signs are allowed to stay up for the three weeks before the runoff election. "There's always a chance for a mistake," Tyler said.

Lakly noted he wouldn't be surprised if a mistake was made by someone who thought the signs were violating the 48-hour rule. "In a runoff, everybody thinks elections are over," he said.

"We haven't taken down any [political] signs since election day," Babb said, when more than 80 signs were removed from polling places.

"I do not step on people's rights, take down their signs," Babb said, adding that if the signs are indeed on private property and are removed by the city, it's illegal. "I'm just sorry somebody got their feelings hurt," she said. "It seems to happen every election."

Babb noted she drives a Crown Victoria, not a city truck.

If an illegally placed sign is removed, Babb said she keeps the sign in her trunk for two weeks "or until my trunk will hold no more." Sign owners can retrieve the sign for free on first offense, but repeat offenders may be charged a $20 recovery fee.

Regarding the possible involvement of a city truck, Carty noted that while city employees "don't have any marching orders from us" to remove campaign signs, the possibility is there that "it may be an individual that's out cutting the grass. But if the signs are not in the right of way, they definitely should not be pulling up signs."

He added there may be confusion about what is city right of way. "Some people "think they own out to the bike paths, but they don't," Carty said. He added they would typically notify the candidate if a sign was in violation.

Carty encouraged anyone who suspects they see a city employee wrongly removing signs to call him at the Building Department. "All city trucks have numbers on them. We can identify the driver at a particular time. We'll look into it.

"We know Lakly is in the runoff," he said. "We're not going to tear down his signs or anyone else's."

Lakly faces Kathy Cox in a runoff election Tuesday for the State Representative spot, 105th District. Brown is in a runoff for the Republican nomination for County Commission Post 4 against Linda Wells.

Also on the runoff ballot Tuesday are Don Johnson and Bill Bonner, looking to earn the Republican nomination for State Senator, District 34. The new Superior Court Judge, Griffin Circuit will be decided Tuesday as Chris Edwards faces David Fowler in the runoff.