Orem woman says she had permission to remove campaign signs; law fuzzy
Carlene Coombs, Daily Herald
Tables with campaign signs are pictured prior to a Orem City Council candidate debate on Oct. 25, 2023, at Utah Valley University.An Orem woman allegedly seen removing City Council campaign signs near a business on Halloween says she received permission from the business to remove them. The incident has been reported to the Orem Police Department.
In a redacted police report made on Oct. 31, the woman, who was later identified as Orem Planning Commission member Helena Kleinlein, was reportedly seen taking down campaign signs of City Council candidate Chris Killpack at a business on State Street in Orem.
Killpack told the Daily Herald on Tuesday that he had written permission from the property owner to place his campaign sign on the lawn on the State Street side of the business. Killpack later returned to replace his campaign sign with the permission of the property owner, the police report states.
In an email statement to the Daily Herald on Wednesday morning, Kleinlein alleged that Killpack, who is one of the six candidates running for Orem City Council, had placed signs in front of multiple Orem businesses without permission from business owners.
“The business gave permission for it (the sign) to be removed and set aside for the candidate to pick up,” she wrote in reference to the Oct. 31 case. “The Orem police and an Orem attorney validated that the business has the right of refusal for signs over a landowner.”
According to the police report, Kleinlein reportedly spoke with an employee of the business who gave her permission to remove the campaign sign, but it was later determined that the employee did not have the authority to grant her permission to do so. Orem police are currently investigating the case.
Gary McGinn, Orem City assistant attorney, said there isn’t “one definitive answer” on whether the property owner or business owner who leases the property or building is the one with authority to approve any placement or removal of an election sign. It all depends on the lease and what parts of the property a renter is allowed to control, he said.
“It’s usually the property owner, but when there’s a lease to the business, it depends on the lease and the terms of the lease and what rights the lease gives the business owner,” McGinn said.
According to McGinn, the city doesn’t have its own laws pertaining to campaign signs. Restrictions concerning political signs can be found in Utah’s election code.
