Rosemary Wilson’s phone started blowing up early Saturday morning. The Virginia Beach City Councilwoman first got a call from her hairdresser, then one from Councilman Louis Jones. Then another and another.
About six people called to tell her one of her campaign signs on the corner of First Court and Pleasure House roads had been vandalized. Someone had spray painted an ethnic slur over Wilson’s name. The words reference an anti-Greek sentiment. It likely occurred overnight Friday.
“I thought that was very offensive for someone to choose my sign to pick on a group of wonderful hardworking people who do a lot for our community,” Wilson said by phone Tuesday morning.
Wilson serves at-large on the City Council. She’s running for the Beach seat, which includes the Oceanfront resort area, against Councilman Guy Tower and Rick Kowalewitch. Both of those candidates said they’ve had a few signs go missing, but nothing too out of the ordinary.
Wilson’s heritage is not Greek, and she doesn’t know why her sign was targeted. Both Virginia Beach and Norfolk have sizable Greek American communities. Several Oceanfront business owners have Greek heritage.
Jimmy Frost, who is helping Wilson with her campaign, took down the 4-by-8-foot sign Saturday morning and replaced it with a new one.
“It contributes to the toxic environment that politics can be these days,” Frost said. “It’s childish, and it’s against the law.”
Also over the weekend, one of her signs at the corner of Great Neck and Wolfsnare roads was rammed by a car. Frost filed a police report.
This isn’t the first election season that Wilson’s signs have been defaced. Once someone painted a mustache on a picture of her, and a homeless person used one of her signs to cover himself, according to Wilson.
“Vandalism, but not like this when you take on an ethnic group,” she said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
