In Framingham, $20 Paid To Candidate For Lawn Sign Causes Stir

FRAMINGHAM, MA — In local politics, campaign signs can often be a third rail.

District 7 Councilor Margareth Shepard said this week that her friend recently had a tense exchange with District 7 City Council candidate Magda Janus that ended with Janus collecting cash for a missing lawn sign.

According to Shepard, her friend agreed to let Janus place a sign in his lawn. But while mowing his lawn his lawn, he moved the sign and misplaced it, Shepard said. Janus went to the man's door and quizzed him about the where the sign was. Shepard's friend eventually handed Janus $20, which is what Janus told him signs cost.

"He got nervous and ended up paying," Shepard said.

Janus recalls that she was driving around checking on signs after two other ones in different locations went missing. She noticed a Yvonne Spicer sign in the man's yard, but no Janus sign.

"I politely asked if the sign I originally gave [him] was somewhere around and if I could have it back," Janus told Patch this week, adding that the man could not explain exactly where the sign went. The man, who Shepard declined to identify, voluntarily gave her $20, Janus said.

Janus said she's running her campaign on a shoestring budget, so tries to keep track of costly items like signs. According to state records, she's raised just over $1,000 since founding her campaign in June. She's spent about $400 on lawn signs from Framingham-based All Right Mailing And Printing, according to campaign finance records.

Janus is running in the District 7 race against Leora Mallach after clearing a four-way primary on Sept. 14. Shepard is stepping down from City Council after two terms.

Shepard said she doesn't know Janus personally (and the Councilor is endorsing Mallach), but questioned the candidate's handling of the sign removal. Shepard also mentioned the sign incident at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

"If you are not able to handle a sign incident, what does that tell us about you as a candidate?" Shepard told Patch.

Janus said she wasn't trying to cause a problem, and highlighted she's running a campaign largely supported by friends and family.

"I didn't think it was unreasonable," she said about the interaction over the sign.

Don't think campaign signs are a big deal? Check out some recent stories from across the U.S:

• Reward Offered In Theft Of Campaign Signs In South Windsor
• Teaneck Police Investigating Trashed Campaign Sign
• Why A Seattle Council Candidate Called 911 Over Yard Signs
• Vote Decides 'No Political Signs' On Rowayton Community Fence
• Russ's Ravings: Political Signs Are Pointless And Useless In 2020
• Campaign Signs: Are They Helpful Or Just Eyesores?