The 23-year-old daughter of Poway City Councilman Barry Leonard has admitted to stealing campaign signs belonging to three of her father’s rivals. Erin Leonard and her friend Whitney Rosen were caught stealing the signs last Wednesday and confessed to authorities, sheriff’s officials said.
“My daughter has been an enthusiastic supporter of my campaign,” said Leonard. “Unfortunately, I learned today that her passionate support of my council candidacy got the better of her judgement and she removed some of my opponents’ signs. I was surprised, shocked and disappointed by her actions. Under no circumstances would I condone such behavior.
“I love my daughter as much as any father can but my daughter’s actions were wrong and she will need to face whatever the appropriate consequences are.”
Leonard’s daughter has also apologized, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy his opponents. Several candidates for Poway City Council are now calling on him to exit the race. He has refused, saying he had nothing to do with the theft.
The stolen signs belonged to city council candidates Joe Calabrese, Jon Ryan and Christopher Olps. Calabrese says his signs had been going missing for the past couple of months. He was driving around checking on them Wednesday night when he spotted a girl (Rosen) with signs under arm. When he confronted her, she told him their parents had directed them to remove signs that weren’t legal. Rosen, whose mother is the executive director of the North San Diego Business Chamber, denies ever making that statement. Her mother similarly denied having ever told her that.
Calabrese followed the Volvo the two girls were driving but eventually gave up and notified four sheriff’s deputies he saw in a parking lot. They caught up with the duo using a photograph of their license plate taken by Calabrese.
The case is being treated like as a misdemeanor theft, but no charges have yet been filed.