About 50 campaign signs belonging to state Del. Elizabeth Bobo were stolen from front lawns across District 12B over the weekend, prompting one Columbia resident to call Howard County police and several others to contact the Democrat's campaign to offer contributions.

The signs -- which read "Our Delegate Liz Bobo: We Trust Her" -- apparently were removed overnight Saturday.

"They disappear in the middle of the night," said Bobo, a former Howard County executive who, with less than a week before Election Day, hasn't decided whether she will replace the placards.

Signs went up 2 weeks ago

Bobo, who has a spirited Republican challenger in golf course developer Todd Arterburn, said her campaign purchased 100 signs and put up about 70 of them, all on residential property, two weeks ago.

About 10 or 20 signs were left standing.

Bobo said some supporters who noticed that signs were missing called to offer campaign contributions.

Asked who she thinks is responsible for removing the signs, Bobo said, "All I can tell you is other signs remain standing. Glendening signs remain standing. Sauerbrey signs remain standing. Arterburn signs remain standing."

Arterburn said yesterday he had no idea who took his opponent's signs.

"I don't authorize anything I would be embarrassed to tell my son about," he said.

Opponent also missing signs

Arterburn pointed out that about eight or nine of his commercial-sized campaign signs, which can cost as much as $150 each, also had been stolen.

John Goldmeier, 70, and his wife, Dottie, of the 5700 block of Hesperus Drive in Columbia, called county police Sunday to report that their Bobo sign was missing -- even though two signs supporting local school board members had been left untouched.

"It's not right that people go around and go on people's property," John Goldmeier said.

Pub Date: 10/28/98