WHITE BLUFF — Carl Kincaid, one of four candidates seeking three seats on the White Bluff City Council in the Nov. 3 election, says a campaign sign was deliberately cut in half after another sign was stolen.
Kincaid said the damaged sign was located at the corner of Highway 70 and Church Street. In a statement, he described a puncture mark followed by a slice down the middle, which he said indicated intentional damage rather than wind.
Photo: Carl and Candice Kincaid
According to the Dickson County Election Commission’s sample ballot, Kincaid is running alongside Margaret “Peg” Dutcher, Scott G Glover and Connie Reed. White Bluff voters may select up to three candidates in the council race.
For Kincaid, the response from his 15-year-old daughter made the damage particularly personal. After seeing the sign, she offered to sew it back together.
“It’s easy to forget that behind every name on a campaign sign is a real person with a family,” Kincaid said. “When you attack someone, even through something as seemingly insignificant as destroying a sign, it affects more than just the candidate. Our children see these things too.”
Kincaid said he and his wife, Candice, believe residents should be able to hold strong political convictions while treating others respectfully.
“You can disagree with someone without disrespecting them. You can vote against someone without hating them,” he said.
He also expressed concern about what he described as hostility toward other people who have sought public office in the community, saying candidates and their families have endured ugly treatment simply for appearing on a ballot.
“But I refuse to believe that’s who we are as a community, or who we have to become,” Kincaid said. “We can disagree, even passionately, without treating our neighbors like enemies.”
His statement did not identify anyone responsible for either incident or indicate whether a police report had been filed.
“I don’t expect everyone in White Bluff to vote for me. That’s the beauty of our system,” Kincaid said. “But I do believe we should be able to disagree without resorting to destruction of someone else’s property.”
Kincaid said his daughter may get her wish to repair the sign and put it back up.
“You can cut a sign in half, but you can’t cut our commitment to this community,” he said.