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Political signs put up without homeowner consent

Posted at 3:14 PM, Sep 29, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-29 15:14:04-04

Danielle Lesika came home from work Friday, only to find something unexpected on her front lawn.

"I noticed a campaign sign for someone I didn't even know," she said.

Lesika reached out to 7 Eyewitness News to look into where the sign came from. She says the sign was for Town Councilman Dan Crangle, who is running for re-election in the Town of Tonawanda.

Lesika says the sign came with a note, saying, "Thank you for allowing me to put a sign on your lawn. I apologize for not contacting you first, but I have over 300 signs to put up. If for any reason you do not wish to have the sign, please call me and I will gladly pick it up."

7 Eyewitness News contacted Crangle who says he puts signs on the lawns of family, friends and supporters.

"Ninety percent of the people I know, it's the 10 percent that I will put flyers in their doors and mailboxes," Crangle said. 

Lesika says she's not a supporter of Crangle, and what's even more bizzare, he says he didn't put the sign at her house.

"I don't even have the address on my sheets here," he said. "I don't know who put the sign on her lawn. The bottom line is if I put that sign on the lawn by mistake, which I didn't, she could have called me and I would have removed it."

Lesika says she texted the number provided on the note, telling the Councilman she threw his sign in the trash.

"I don't know anything about this person," she said. "You make assumptions about people based on who they support politically, and I certainly don't support this person. My neighbors had a few hours to look at this sign and make a judgment on me based on this sign. And now that I've had such negative interactions with him, I definitely don't want people thinking I support him."

7 Eyewitness News reached out to the Town of Tonawanda about its rules regarding signs, and the Town Clerk says it's not illegal to place a political sign on someone's lawn. It's also not illegal for the homeowner to remove it.

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