Both the Democratic and Republican parties of Collier County condemn defacement and theft of candidate signs.

In fact, in a joint statement issued earlier this election season, the parties declared that vandalism of signs is not only unlawful but “it is disrespectful and anti-democratic.”

Sadly, not everyone has gotten the message. The Collier County Democratic Party has received numerous complaints from candidates and citizens about the signs of Democratic candidates being stolen and damaged.

And this week, the Republican Party notified Democrats about a person who misrepresented herself to obtain a large Trump sign then set about defacing it on social media.

This flies directly in the face of the pledges the parties have made to one another to try to conduct politics in Collier County in a civil manner.

“We encourage Democrats to waive the signs of our candidates proudly and we are all working hard to unseat Trump,” said Annisa Karim, chairwoman of the Collier County Democratic Party. “We’re keenly aware of what a threat he poses to our nation, and it is understandable this arouses passions. Still, the party does not condone defacement of candidate signs for any reason.

“It makes it difficult to condemn the actions of others who vandalize our own candidates’ signs when we engage in similar misbehavior.

“We should be better than this. And the Collier County Democratic Party disavows this sort of activity.”