London mayoral candidate Susan Stevenson is firing back against the individuals who defaced two of her campaign signs with red swastikas. Stevenson tells CTV News that she first learned of the hateful graffiti when she received two phone calls from members of the public early Sunday morning. “We immediately went out there and picked them up and then reported it to the police,” she explains. Stevenson says the two signs were located near a park where children frequently play. “It’s really serious, because those symbols create a lot of fear and trauma in people, particularly in the Jewish community,” said Stevenson, who is not Jewish. “But for others, too, they find them quite terrifying and very concerning.” It’s the latest in a series of troubling incidents involving campaign signs installed along roadways since nominations closed for the municipal election. After independently contacting CTV News, two council candidates showed some of their signs that had been sliced to pieces using a razorblade or knife. On Saturday, Ward 13 candidate Andrew Crook provided an update. More of his signs had been slashed at the corner of Adelaide Street and Central Avenue, as well as signs for the incumbent candidate David Ferreira. On Sunday, Ward 12 candidate Ribal Zebian contacted CTV News again, after receiving a pair of one-time access videos sent to his phone that showed a young man damaging his signs and then stomping on the pieces. He reported the incident to police along with some identifying information from the unknown account. He subsequently received an apologetic text from a young man who claimed he was not responsible for the previous slashing of Zebian’s signs, but admitted to making the videos. “My action today was messed up and inexcusable.” Stevenson says prior to the hateful symbols being painted on her signs, she had experienced only minor incidents since declaring her candidacy. “This is an election about change, around debates and new ideas,” she explained. “The public is not going to be intimidated by this, and I find that they are rallying (against) any kind of attempts to silence an open and free debate here.” Election Day is Oct. 26.
