Chris Rockhold, who is challenging incumbent state Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, in the 17th Legislative District, said his opponent is acting like “the bully in the playground.”
With the primary election only a week away, campaigning has kicked into high gear.
For Rockhold, that translated into placing last-minute signs all over Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard, in an attempt to get his name out to as many people as possible before the Aug. 5 primary.
“And then I started getting text messages,” Rockhold said.
The messages were from Harris, who told Rockhold his signs were in front of private businesses that had donated to the Harris campaign. “My point (is) start taking the signs down. You have no permission and honor personal property rights. Live your own code,” the message from Harris to Rockhold said.
The two are vying for 17th Legislative District, Position 2, along with Richard McCluskey, a Democrat.
Rockhold, a Libertarian, has criticized Harris for voting in favor of Boeing tax breaks, which Harris said helped create and sustain much-needed jobs.
Rockhold said he found Harris’ texts “intimidating.”
“You got to be kidding me,” Harris said. “This is not news. My goodness, he has thousands or hundreds of signs, and these happen to be on private property.”
Another text from Harris, on Sunday, tells Rockhold he is going to have his canvassers “knock on all these businesses to see if they want the sign(s) removed.”
Harris said he noticed his opponent put a bunch of new signs up over the weekend and his text was simply to say, “Do you even know where the signs are?
“So I sent him a text, saying some of these locations are rather odd and one is a business where my wife works and another is a business that supports me,” Harris said. “Does that sound threatening to you?”
Some signs removed
Political signs are allowed to be placed in places such as traffic islands and parking strips, as long as they don’t create any traffic safety issues. Signs can be posted on private property, but not without the go-ahead from the owner. There is also a long list of voluntary guidelines the city asks that candidates abide by when they are placing campaign signs.
Rockhold still has a lot of signs up and down Mill Plain Boulevard and Chkalov Drive but said the signs in questions are no longer there.
Harris told The Columbian he didn’t touch any of Rockhold’s signs. His final text to Rockhold read, “Thanks, I would never have stopped to meet many of these businesses.” Then, he added, a word of advice: “Recycle.”
