Mayor Gary Singh is weighing taking down some of his re-election signs in response to a serious public safety threat posed by an arsonist targeting his signs.

The second of two signs that were lit on fire triggered a brush fire on Daniels Street shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday.

A Tik-Tok video shows flames shooting 30 to 40 feet skyward on the north side of Daniels Street across from the Stadium Retail Center before Manteca Fire arrived on scene.

Fire Chief Steve Islas indicated firefighters zeroed in on the 4-by 8-foot Singh re-election sign as the point where the fire started.
The sign — that cost in excess of $100 — did not completely burn.

Burning pieces of the sign, however, dropped to the dry brush below igniting it.

The fire then spread northward through the brush and into a nearby stand of trees.

It was the second Singh sign to be set on fire in three days.

The other was at Fishback Road and Yosemite Avenue across from Kaiser Hospital.

That sign — just like the one on Daniels — only partially burned. It did not extend to nearby dry brush. The sign showed signs of being charred by fire with some ash on the ground below.

There were no signs of any other political signs being torched.

“I don’t want my signs being targeted to pose a threat to people or property,” Singh said of his decision to consider removing some signs in area that are isolated or could — if they are set on fire — damage property or possibly injury people.

Singh stressed he wasn’t intimated and that he still intends to place campaign signs around Manteca.

“My job is to do what is best for the city (and if that means) reduce the risk of someone’s home or property being fire damaged I’ll remove the sign,” Singh said.

Jacob Naven, who is challenging Singh, stressed “it is not appropriate” to burn or even damage campaign signs.

Several political signs have been damaged besides the two of Singh’s that were lit on fire. Most of those damaged signs belong to Singh.

This is not the first time political signs have been burned or damaged in Manteca municipal elections.

Back in 2018, during Jose Nuno’s successful campaign for council, one of his large signs that was located on the southwest corner of Daniels Street and Fishback Road adjacent to the AM/PM gas station, was burned.

The person who caught the late night vandalism on his smartphone being committed by what appeared to be four young men in hoodies that were riding bicycles, managed to get the blaze out before Manteca Fire arrived to prevent additional damage.

Perhaps even more disturbing is the video of another young man caught via smartphone tearing apart another large Nuno sign on Union Road just south of the city’s main fire station during the same election cycle.

In that instance, as he’s capturing the vandalism on his smartphone, the witness can be heard asking the young man why he tore down the sign.

His response: “I just did, so what.”

In the same 2018 election when he made his successful run for mayor, Ben Cantu provided video of his campaign signs being stolen by a young man with a hoodie. The incident was caught on a home surveillance camera.

Both Nuno and Singh — the only candidates that have run for elected office in Manteca to have their signs burned — happen to be immigrants who came to the United States from Mexico and India respectively when they were young children.

The same year a number of large campaign signs from virtually every candidate disappeared but were recovered during sweeps of homeless encampments by candidates. The signs were being used by the homeless as shelter from the elements.

Up until the 2018 election cycle, occasional graffiti and yard signs being knocked over were the wort vandalism incidents during campaigns.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

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