To the Editor:

Naively, I was thinking that all of the Hilltown community had decided to allow the campaign season to proceed allowing for the free flow of positions and ideas by leaving our yard signs in place. After all, the signs in front of our home had remained for several weeks — yay for free speech!

Sadly, when I went out for a run on Gifford Hollow Road this morning I was met with the sight of two flattened signs — one was in support of Pat Fahy for New York Senate and one was a reused sign for Roe the Vote. The one for Janet Tweed for Assembly was missing entirely and the one for Harris/Walz was decapitated with just the wire frame remaining.

I continued my run and was able to rescue the Janet Tweed sign — it appears the thieves/vandals had snatched the Harris sign out of their vehicle and drove over the rest dragging the Tweed sign down the road.

The hypocrisy is immense: Those who scream property rights, no trespassing, First Amendment, and Stop the Steal at every turn apparently only hold those rights for themselves.

I wish I could say that this was just one mischievous act but I learned at a memorial service for a member of the Rensselaerville community later that day that the theft, destruction, and vandalism of signs for Democratic candidates has been widespread in our community.

I call upon the leaders of the Republican Party in Albany County to address this criminality and see that it ceases. But just in case, I’ve put up another sign:

You can steal our signs but not our votes; vote Harris/Walz.

Helene G. Goldberger

Berne