Carbondale’s mayoral candidates are missing some signs.

John “Mike” Henry said of his 350 campaign signs, about 109 are missing or have been vandalized, including two 4 feet by 8 feet ones that cost about $350 each. He said his smaller signs cost $7 each.

“We’ve kind of lost track of [how many are missing],” said Henry, owner of Henry Printing Inc. in Carbondale. “Somebody’s just taking them.”

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On March 18, Henry made a Facebook post jokingly asking supporters, “Does anyone know how to train political YARD SIGNS?”

“Most of them wandered off during the night,” he wrote in the post, which has 137 likes. “I honestly did not know that they were nocturnal – maybe some fencing would have helped but they are skilled climbers.”

City councilwoman Jane Adams seems to have the same issue. 

While she would not give a definite number, Adams said of her 450 campaign signs that cost $4 each, a lot have gone missing. She said she thinks a Henry supporter has taken down several signs, because they disappear systematically.

“Clearly some of it’s intentional,” said Adams, who taught anthropology at SIU for 23 years. “If I ever heard that any of my supporters were taking down signs, I would stop them in a heartbeat.”

Henry said one of the first things he told his committee was not to tamper with campaign signs.

“We would not play that game,” he said. “It’s juvenile.”

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On March 22, Adams made a Facebook post saying while replacing her signs, she found several other candidates signs that were thrown away and put them back in the ground.

“I’ve put up Henry signs, [city council candidate Adam] Loos signs and [city council candidate Navreet] Kang signs,” she wrote in the post, which has 41 likes. “I hope that all the candidates cooperate in this small way to promote civility in this campaign season.”

The election to decide Carbondale’s next mayor takes place Tuesday. 

Sam Beard contributed to this report.

Luke Nozicka can be reached at [email protected].