A Pacifica City Council candidate is now facing a misdemeanor vandalism notice after police say he painted a heart on a political sign that was campaigning against him. Sam Casillas, who is running for the District 5 seat, was placed under a citizen's arrest following the incident on Oct. 2, and Pacifica police accepted that arrest and issued him a notice to appear in court.
According to KRON4, Pacifica police responded at 4:45 p.m. on Oct. 2 to the area of San Pedro and Grand Avenue after reports of campaign-sign vandalism. City Manager Sean Charpentier said Casillas was placed under citizen's arrest for misdemeanor vandalism, and officers subsequently accepted that arrest and issued the notice to appear.
In a video posted to Nextdoor, Casillas admitted to painting a heart on the sign opposing his campaign, the station's report notes. He said his intent was not malicious and that he had hoped the gesture would bring a bit of humor and levity to what has become a tense local race.
Candidate Says He Regrets the Gesture
Casillas said he did not intend to cause harm by painting the heart, and he told KRON4 he now regrets doing it. He added that the episode distracted from what he considers the critical issues at stake in the election, a sentiment included in the same report.
Under California law, a private citizen is allowed to make an arrest for a public offense committed or attempted in their presence, per California Penal Code section 837. That framework is what allowed the person who witnessed the sign being painted to initiate the citizen's arrest that Pacifica police later accepted.
A Contested Race Heading Into November
Casillas is a candidate for Pacifica's District 5 council seat, according to his own campaign site, samforpacifica.com. Pacifica's next General Municipal Election is set for Nov. 3, with City Council seats in Districts 2, 3 and 5 all up for grabs, per the City of Pacifica. The city runs its council elections under a district-based system, meaning voters in each of those districts choose their own representative rather than voting citywide.
The race itself has been described as competitive, with multiple contenders vying for the open seats, according to Coastside News. Campaign-sign disputes are hardly unique to Pacifica this election cycle. In Fayetteville, North Carolina, a man was arrested and jailed without bail late last month in connection with vandalizing six campaign signs belonging to four candidates outside a convenience store, according to CityView. And in Tauranga, New Zealand, a man was charged after allegedly damaging roughly 30 election hoardings within a two-hour span, as reported by RNZ.
For now, Casillas is scheduled to appear in court following the citation, and the Pacifica race continues toward its Nov. 3 conclusion.
