Town manager says Richard Coleman’s signs were removed by mistake
BY MIKE FUHRMAN
Richard Coleman is willing to devote the considerable time, effort and money necessary to a run for a seat the Iredell County Board of Commissioners.
Campaigning against six other Republicans in the March 5 primary election is challenging enough, Coleman said. He doesn’t believe he should have to deal with a Town of Troutman employee removing his campaign signs from private property and discarding them.
A security video obtained by the candidate shows Shane Harris, the town’s code enforcement officer, taking Coleman’s campaign signs from outside of a gas station on Highway 21. When Coleman questioned Harris about his actions, the code enforcement officer told him that it was not the only time he had done so.
Coleman said a total of 67 of his signs were removed on four different dates from two locations in Troutman. Under North Carolina law, it is a Class 3 misdemeanor for a person to “steal, deface, vandalize, or unlawfully remove a political sign that is lawfully placed.”
Coleman filed a report with the Troutman Police Department about the theft of his signs earlier this month, but he told the officer that he did not want to press charges.
The TPD officer who took the report consulted with the District Attorney’s Office about the case. Based on Coleman’s request and the guidance from the DA’s Office, the case was closed and classified as “prosecution declined.”
Coleman said he decided not to prosecute because he didn’t think the town employee “was doing it on his own.” In the video, Harris references the planning director when explaining why he removed the campaign signs.
Harris returned 25 signs to Coleman, but told the candidate that other signs he removed were put in a dumpster.
Coleman said he believes Town Manager Ron Wyatt knew the signs were being removed by a town employee or employees throughout the month of December and did nothing to prevent it. Each time after learning his signs were missing Coleman said he contacted Wyatt to express his frustration about his signs being stolen. Each time, he said, Wyatt assured him town employees were not involved.
Wyatt, a former chairman of the Iredell County Republican Party’s executive committee, denied that he or Harris has targeted Coleman.
Removing “illegal signs that have been trashing our community are one of the assigned duties of the Town’s Code Enforcement Officer,” Wyatt said in a statement. “The Code Enforcement Officer picked Richard Coleman’s political signs up as they were in the State Right of Way. … The Code Enforcement Officer failed to realize they still were on private property.”
The town manager explained that many candidates and campaign volunteers often assume they can place campaign signs in the state’s right of way at any time. State law allows that practice only during the 30 days prior to an election.
“They are illegally doing so most of the time,” Wyatt said. “The employee thought he was performing his duties appropriately until the error was discovered.”
Harris, the code enforcement officer, said he apologized when Coleman confronted him about the signs.
“I let him know that these were picked up by mistake as I thought they were in the Town’s right of way and also put out before the appropriate time and date,” Harris said. “Mr. Coleman spoke very ill towards me and kept interrupting me and making threats of felony charges all while being recorded. He asked several times in different ways if the Town Manager told me to do this. I advised him every time, ‘No, picking up illegal signs was my job.’ ”
“I felt very threatened and told Mr. Coleman he was kind of being a ‘butt,’ “ Harris added.
Coleman isn’t convinced the removal of his signs was an innocent mistake.
“I can believe a mistake was made. It’s hard to believe it was made four times consistently,” he said.
Coleman also cited the fact that the code enforcement officer did not remove the non-campaign signs that were placed alongside his campaign signs as evidence that he was intentionally targeted by the Town.
The candidate also finds it convenient that Wyatt located some of his missing signs on town property about an hour after a business owner told Wyatt that signs taken from the business owner’s property were air-tagged and that his security cameras had been repositioned to capture the thefts.
Coleman also believes that the Town of Troutman has an obligation to inform candidates if a town employee removes their signs.
Wyatt said that is not the town’s policy.
“As a practice, the Code Enforcement Officer has not been calling any sign ordinance violators,” he explained. “Otherwise, that would consume an appreciable amount of his time daily, telling the dozens of different violators. Coleman does not get any special treatment.”
Wyatt said the Town of Troutman is willing to reimburse Coleman for the cost of “up to a dozen signs that were improperly removed and discarded.”
The town manager said the entire incident was a mistake and has been blown out of proportion.
“There are opportunities for all people, those who are error-free or those who have made lots of errors, some serious, to show their true integrity and intent,” he said. “All errors we make are not always intended. All errors are not always a personal attack on someone. All errors are not egregious, causing an employee to be fired. Some people play the victim to get free publicity for everyone who will hear their slanted version of the facts while playing a victim.”
Meanwhile, Coleman said he will not tolerate his signs being illegally removed from private property by town employees – or anyone else.
“Make no mistake. My signs will have trackers and if anyone else steals our signs I will prosecute,” Coleman said. “At some point you have to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ ”
“There’s a lot of money invested in these campaigns,” he added. “It’s not just about the candidate. It’s about everybody who has invested in the campaign.”
Thank you, Richard Coleman, for speaking up. Too often people in Troutman are too intimidated by this town manager to stand up to him. Apparently he uses his “connections” in the GOP as a shield for his actions. Maybe it’s time for those “connections” to hold him accountable. This sign theft happened during the last municipal election with a candidate the town manager did not favor. Enough is Enough! Richard Coleman did not deserve this horrible treatment. No one is above the law.
Oh boo hoo
Is this the type of person Iredell wants as a commissioner? Someone who litters the county months before the election with his signs? I mean really. This guy has some real issues. Maybe educate himself on the problems of the county. Electing him will be like what Kubiniec is doing on the school board. Vote wisely Iredell.
Coleman seems like a cry baby. And why does just about everything controversial include Duck Wyatt?
A crybaby for reporting theft of property on private property? Come on now.
As far as the Duck goes, do the math.
Theft is theft! This needs to be investigated by an outside agency since the town can’t investigate itself! If it is discovered that the town manager used taxpayer funded personnel and taxpayer funded vehicle to carry out a personal political vendetta, then he needs to be terminated immediately!
What a joke. This is the same candidate who left his campaign sign in his yard since 2021? All this screams of an attention seeker. Doesn’t show characteristics of a leader to me, more like someone who is desperate for media attention. How is this helping Iredell County?
Some of these comments are crazy. Did you miss the part where THE TOWN WAS ILLEGALLY REMOVING POLITICAL SIGNS OFF OF PRIVATE PROPERTY?!? They even admitted it. Then you call the candidate names for standing up against it. What a joke.
““I let him know that these were picked up by mistake as I thought they were in the Town’s right of way and also put out before the appropriate time and date,” Harris said. “Mr. Coleman spoke very ill towards me and kept interrupting me and making threats of felony charges all while being recorded. He asked several times in different ways if the Town Manager told me to do this. I advised him every time, ‘No, picking up illegal signs was my job.’ ”
I say this quote is all you need to know, this is not theft! An employee was doing his job and Coleman acting like a cry baby. Thinking he deserves special treatment and being rude to this employee is not who anyone should want for an office! I think Mr. Harris and Mr. Wyatt did the right thing and Coleman should be ashamed of his behavior. DO NOT VOTE FOR COLEMAN!
I think you missed the part where the town admitted they were wrong and Coleman had the right to have the signs there. I’m sure the next time someone takes your property and throws it away you support the illegal acts over your property rights. But anyone that stands up to Troutman’s town manager has my support.
Some people still respect laws…others think laws don’t apply to them. Troutman brought this on themselves by hiring an a town manager who seems to be lacking scruples! Sadly, the taxpayers will suffer the consequences of this never ending Jerry Springer Show until they make a change.
What I see is typical Duck Wyatt denying deflecting not acknowledging and definitely NEVER taking responsibility for anything. In my dealings with him even when he is in my and many others clear violation of at a minimum Troutman Town policy if not NC Law he will blame anyone else, have others deny there is such a policy even when you have a copy. Wyatt is the problem. YOUR PROBLEM TROUTMAN. HANDLE IT.
This looks like duck done ducked up AGAIN!!
BUT just like a duck, it will roll right off his back. Teflon Ron!
Not impressed with Coleman either.
Did Kamala Harris comment? Can you say errors one more time?
“There are opportunities for all people, those who are error-free or those who have made lots of errors, some serious, to show their true integrity and intent,” he said. “All errors we make are not always intended. All errors are not always a personal attack on someone. All errors are not egregious, causing an employee to be fired. Some people play the victim to get free publicity for everyone who will hear their slanted version of the facts while playing a victim.”
This has Quack, Quack, Quack written all over it. The duck needs to get off the taxpayers’ dime.
Not that Coleman didn’t take advantage of the situation, but it’s pretty sad that the theft even happened. It is political on both sides. But sloppy job with everyone involved on the town side. Coleman didn’t actually do anything wrong unlike the town. Bad taste maybe, but not illegal like what the town people did.
Mr Coleman should be reimbursed for ALL the signs they destroyed and the person who removed them should be assigned the task to replace them in the proper and legal way the Town requires.
Unfortunately, Troutman seems to be run by this “good old boys” mentality who make the “policies” fit their agenda!
Kudos to Mr Coleman for bringing these shady actions to light. I dare say if this happened to others they would also object – including the criticizers in the comments above!
Can you council members not see the reputational risk you have allowed to occur under this town manager? Wyatt is a political hack and every move he makes is calculated. Council is scared to death of this guy and the citizens are fed-up with council’s lack of action. Mayor Young also needs to go for allowing this nonsense to take place.
How did Wyatt even get the job of Troutman town manager? It is a professional-degree required position and he only has a high school diploma?
Troutman needs a town manager who is professionally qualified to manage the challenges of rapid growth and complex zoning. While taxpayers are being squeezed by an overinflated budget, the manager is out there joy riding on a golf cart, and going on a local radio show. Last Wednesday on that show he even acknowledged that citizens complain about him having a golf cart to “fart around town” instead of working. How long are Troutman citizens going to pay for this BS?