Sunny Park, a Democrat running for California’s District 1 City Council seat in Buena Park, was arrested for allegedly stealing her opponent’s campaign signs.
“Park was contacted nearby, and officers obtained evidence of the alleged offense,” the Buena Park Police posted on Facebook. “She was taken into custody without incident, and later released on a citation for unlawfully removing campaign signs.”
A video captured by Kenny Vaughn, husband of Buena Park Mayor Virginia Vaughn, shows Park’s car, the back seat of which is filled with her opponent’s signs. The video also shows a man working with Park. Police say the man has not yet been identified.
Illegal Theft of Illegal Signs?
On her Facebook page, Youngsun Park claims that the signs bear a dishonest and derogatory message, and further, do not say who paid for them.The signs in question say “No Sunny Park—Carpetbagger.”
“Carpetbagger” is a derogatory term for a person coming to an area from some other place to run for office. It implies that the candidate does not legitimately represent the constituency.
Wrong Way to Address the Issue
Park posted a video of her own, which shows her confronting Kenny Vaughn where he admits to paying for the signs. In the video, Vaughn claims that regardless of what the signs say, they cannot be taken down at will by any other person.In this, Vaughn is correct.
As a lawyer, she should have known that pulling up the signs was illegal. If she had instead filed a complaint with FPPC, she probably could have gotten the signs removed at the owners’ expense and generated some positive publicity at the same time.
Now, Park faces a penalty of up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine if convicted.
Vaughn was not elected mayor. The mayor is chosen each year by the five council members.
