IN THE BATTLE OF THE SIGNS, LOPEZ STALKS DOMINGUEZ

By Juan Montoya
Contests for public office are fought on many fronts.
There is, of course, the public side where debates are held, platforms are announced on pushcards and mass mailing, newspaper advertisements, public rallies, pachangas and the like.
Then there are the hidden battles where dark insinuations are made, whispered accusations are tendered, and rumors are repeated as fact.
Then there's the contest of political signs. Candidates find their signs deface, stolen, or don;t find their signs at all. Candidates and their supporters often accuse the other of damaging or stealing their signs, placing them so the other candidate's signs can't be seen, and trying to steal the eye of the passing motorists and placing them in prohibited right-of-ways along the roads.
In the contest for Cameron County Precinct 2 commissioner for the seat left vacant after Ernie Hernandez's forced resignation, two candidates are vying for an early appointment depending on the outcome of the runoff election this May 27. And indications are that at least one of them, Leo Lopez or his supporters, are skirting the law and starting to play hard ball.
Lopez is married to 404th District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez. Dominguez is a bachelor.
Recently, Lopez (or rather, Elia) complained that someone had taken down some of Leo's signs that had been placed along the frontage road near Dr. Manuel P. Guajardo's office and accused
the Dominguez camp of the dastardly deed. They denied they were the culprits and went by the site to see what had happened.
Well, it seems that whoever was placing the signs for Leo was placing them on the right-of-way (ROW) of state and city thoroughfares. It just so happened that these particular signs were placed precisely where a city crew was doing some work along the right-of-way and they had removed them so they could do their work.
A chagrined Elia later called the Dominguez people to apologize for blaming them.
It's funny in a way because most political signs now carry a message on the bottom that state law prohibits their placement on the ROW.
However, as the photos attest, whoever was hired by the Lopezes to place Leo's signs has been placing them on the restricted ROWs all over precinct 2. The, when that person comes across a Dominguez sign, he or she places them directly in front of the opponents signs. This is an old tactic that irks the opponents who are then forced to move their signs to a position where they can be seen. It's almost a game of cat-and-mouse which becomes – after a while – an expensive endeavor.
There are variations.
In Dominguez's case, sometimes the snap ties to one side of the sign are cut, leaving the wind to finish the job of knocking them down or tearing them so they fall or fold.
However, since no one is there to see them, there's no way to blame anyone for the vandalism.
By the look of things, it is probably safe to assume that this quiet battle of attrition over campaign signs will undoubtedly continue until the final votes are cast on May 27.