Port Washington cops last night arrested a 22-year-old man who's been paid as a campaign consultant to Nassau Republican Senate candidate Barbara Donno (left), charging him with the theft of re-election signs for her opponent, Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington).
He's identified as Vincent Jeffrey, 22, of Manhasset.
Donno campaign spokesman Bryan Hurst described this as the action of "an overzealous campaign supporter" who has been suspended from the campaign without pay and who he said "obviously" wasn't acting on the orders of higherups.
The Johnson campaign gives this account, calling it a "new low" for Donno: "A Johnson campaign volunteer caught a person matching Jeffrey's description attempting to take a sign from Port Washington Blvd., just north of Wakefield Avenue, during Thursday's morning rush hour. The campaign later discovered that 70 to 100 Senator Johnson signs, many along Port Washington Blvd. and Searingtown Road, turned up missing within that same time period. Nearly all of them were replaced by Donno signs."
"The campaign volunteer was able to get the license plate number from the silver convertible the person was driving and a complaint was filed with police... Jeffrey was found with some of the missing signs in his possession and placed under arrest, according to Port Washington Police. Records on file with the New York State Board of Elections show that Jeffery has been on the Donno campaign's payroll since at least June 19."
Hurst of the Donno campaign said: "This was an overzealous campaign supporter who acted obviously outside the campaign...He has since been suspended without pay.
"Previous to this incident, the Town of North Hempstead Republican Party filed a complaint with the Port Washington Police Dept. stating that our signs had been stolen."
Normally, it would be easier for me to swallow the whole "overzealous staffer" thing. But, given the overtly dishonest campaign Donno has so far run, I'm not so sure.
Pathetic.
