Cupertino forced to reimburse candidates after removing campaign signs ‘by mistake’

Cupertino election signs have been mysteriously disappearing, but it’s not the work of disgruntled residents or political opponents. It’s the city.

Maintenance workers in Cupertino’s public works department removed and threw out more than 15 election lawn signs last week for Cupertino City Council Candidates R “Ray” Wang and Councilmember Kitty Moore — signs placed legally along Bollinger Road with residents’ consent. City officials said the removal was the mistake of workers on a routine traffic safety sweep who were unfamiliar with the election code. Now, the city will have to reimburse at least more than $1,000 in total to the candidates to fix a violation of its own code.