Sign of the times? Delaware candidate claims theft by opponent

WILMINGTON (WPVI) -- With the Delaware primary election just two weeks away, political signs can be a great way for candidates to get some last minute exposure.

But New Castle County council president candidate Karen Hartley-Nagle says she's not getting any exposure from hers.

She says that's because they're not there, they're gone.

"[One of my signs] was vandalized, but I'm also missing over 400 signs throughout the county," Hartley-Nagle said.

Now she's out about $8,500 in signs.

"It's very frustrating. I had my children and help me put the signs up, we spent the day together, but it's a lot of hard work," Hartley-Nagle said.

She's putting the blame on her political opponents, current council member Penrose Hollins with the help of County Executive Tom Gordon.

In fact, she's says a man was photographed by her volunteers this last weekend ripping out signs and claims he works for Gordon and Hollins.

"We're going to let the police do their job, but he has been identified as a county employee. He worked on the Tom Gordon campaign in 2012 and is reportedly working on the Gordon-Hollins campaign doing signs this year," Hartley-Nagle said.

In a statement, Gordon denied any wrong-doing.

"I think everyone is losing signs, some are vandalism, some are kids. We lost 9 big signs over the weekend. They cost about $100," the statement read in part.

Hartley-Nagle isn't surprised by that response.

"I expected he would deny that he was behind it," Hartley-Nagle said.

We weren't able to reach Councilman Hollins for comment.

Hartley-Nagle says she's offering a $1,000 reward for information that could help lead to an arrest.