Concord Woman Fined For Stealing Political Signs During 2023 Election

CONCORD, NH — A Concord woman was fined for stealing political signs from private property during the 2023 municipal election cycle.

Cynthia Davis of NE Village Road in Concord was fined $200 by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office in January after a multi-month investigation into stolen signs during the Ward 9 city council race. Initially, Concord police investigated the stolen signs, which could have led to Davis being arrested by summons or full custody. After the complaint was filed, the Election Law Unit investigators took over the case.

During the latter days of last year’s city election, Andrew Georgevits, a candidate for the open Ward 9 city council seat, noticed his signs being removed from yards around the district. Signs were also swiped from his neighbors’ lawns on NE Village Road. Georgevits, a known Republican running in a nonpartisan race, began talking to supporters and searching for the signs while also campaigning for the seat.

Just before the election, Davis emerged as a suspect involved with the stolen signs after they were seen behind her porch.

Pictures of the stolen signs were submitted to Concord NH Patch.

Georgevits reported the incident to Concord police.

In a report, released by the attorney general’s office to Patch, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Conley of the Election Law Unit said Davis “admitted to a city of Concord police officer that you removed four political signs from property owned by other people.” She said she took the signs because, in 2018, a member of the homeowner’s association previously instructed one of her friends to remove political signs.

In October 2023, Davis notified property management about the signs, and the company sent a memo to all members explaining the rules governing political signs. Davis also reached out to some property owners. But when they refused to remove their signs, she took matters into her own hands. Davis, Conley wrote, denied the signs were taken down for “political reasons.”

The rules of the HOA were from 1986, the report stated, although other comments by residents on social media said they had political signs on their properties without issues.

Conley wrote, regardless of the HOA rules, stealing, defacing, or destroying political signs on private property was a violation of state law.

“You were not the owner of the properties on which these signs were placed, and you did not have authority from the property owners to remove these signs,” Conley wrote.

The penalty is between $250 and $2,000 per sign, meaning Davis could have been fined $1,000 to $8,000 for the violation. She was sent a cease-and-desist letter and fined $200 — $50 for each sign.

Georgevits, who ultimately lost the election by 68 votes to Kris Schultz, a Democrat who is also a state representative, said it was disappointing the signs were stolen. Still, he was glad the police and state investigated the matter.

“I’m pleased something was done about this incident,” Georgevits said. “People taking action, from whatever they feel, is not acceptable. City elections are nonpartisan; it is truly neighbors trying to step up to help neighbors. And this became not that type of contest.”

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