LovelandPolitics
Loveland's Independent News Source
Tyrannical Incumbents
demanding legal opponent signs be removed
Loveland - October 12, 2015

Challengers of incumbents in this year's local elections have been the hardest hit by sign theft collectively costing in the
thousands of dollars in lost property.  In every case, the trail of evidence leads back to three incumbents, two on the Thompson
Board of Education and one on Loveland's City Council, whose extreme tactics appear to encourage anything-goes to prevent
their opponents from getting their names out to the voters.

Much of the current flurry of sign stealing can be traced back to a series of erroneous complaints lodged by Loveland City
Councilman Ralph Trenary against his opponent's sign locations.  On September 17, Trenary began submitting photographs of
council candidate for Ward IV Don Overchash signs to Loveland's City Attorney and code enforcement officials who reside in
the city's Developmental Services Department pressuring them to take immediate action to remove the signs.  Trenary
apparently spent several days carefully photographing hundreds of his opponent's signs throughout council Ward IV.

According to Overcash, who was out of the country on vacation at the time,
"Every sign he pictured was set legally"
Overcash said his campaign has counted 210 signs stolen beginning on September 17, and culminating in a mass removal over
the last three days in conjunction with
ominous comments on Trenary's Facebook page.  For his part, Councilman Trenary has
not been quiet about getting Overcash and other candidate signs being removed through his many postings on social media
pretending it isn't his campaign but city officials and private property owners.

The removal of signs legally posted on private property, especially for the two school board candidates challenging Pam
Howard and Denise Montagu, accelerated from a dozen per night into the hundreds following an October 4, posting by
Councilman Ralph Trenary on Facebook where he contends only one sign per property is allowed, calling private lots with
multiple signs "
illegal," giving license to campaign volunteers from both his and school incumbents campaigns to begin
trespassing onto private lots to remove signs.  Often, all but one sign was taken indicating the vandals may have believed they
were deputized by Councilman Trenary to
"stop illegal" signs on behalf of bewildered code enforcement officials.

One lot where Trenary, Montagu and Howard or one of their campaign volunteers entered illegally to remove permitted signs is
located just south of the popular Habitat for Humanity store on Highway 287 in north Loveland.  Large banners for various
Republican candidates challenging incumbent Democrats were stolen or destroyed last Friday night leaving only the ringlets
attached to the poles where the banners were hanging.

The lot is owned by the owners of Liquor Max in Loveland who in previous years did not allow campaign signs on that vacant
property.  However, following harassment of their employees by supporters of the teacher union backed incumbents decided to
instead display their support for Overcash along with school candidates Vance Hansen and Tomi Grundvig on the vacant lot
instead of their business as they did in previous less intense local elections.  

According to city officials, less than one dozen of the signs reported by Trenary and cohort Bob Massaro were in violation of
city code.  The vast majority, one official estimated 90%, were placed legally which is actually a good ratio compared to most
campaigns according to the same official who asked not to be identified by LovelandPolitics given the intense scrutiny by
Councilman Ralph Trenary on a daily basis of their office activities.  Staff are currently preparing to release the complaints
today per a request by Councilman Troy Krenning which Trenary is fighting.

John Chilson Private Property Targeted

Longtime Loveland resident and former attorney for various local governments, John Chilson, was among those targeted by
Trenary first through complaints to Loveland officials using his official city email and later by illegal sign removal following
Trenary's Facebook postings encouraging the lawless activities.  Chilson owns agricultural property next to Jake's Farm along
Highway 34 in east Loveland.

Photographs of Overcash campaign signs on Chilson's property were provided to Loveland code enforcement officer Sharyn
Frazer by Trenary on September 17, 2015 as part of a dozen official complaints he lodged with the city.  Turner concluded the
signs were placed legally, as part of her investigation, and took no action.  Later, in an October 4, 2015 Facebook posting, a
frustrated Trenary published Frazer's name, phone number and email encouraging supporters call her and demand
"illegal"
signs be removed by the city which Trenary erroneously claimed were in the city's right-of-way.  Following that posting, all the
signs on Chilson's property were torn down during the night.

Democrat Activist Heavily Involved

Former Larimer Democrat Party official, Occupy Loveland activist and perennial campaign dirty trickster, Bob Massaro, is
among the supporters of Trenary who also lodged complaints against opponent signs.  Massaro, however, took his activity one
step further by attempting to contact one independently funded sign (see image right) under false pretenses.  Knowing the sign
was from an independent expenditure (not requiring state registration provided the party didn't receive donations to support the
effort), Massaro sent an anonymous email offering donations using a secret email address stating the following,

Just saw you [sic] signs for the Thompson School election.  How can I donate to the cause?

LovelandPolitics researched the origin of the email used by the "donor" reported by the sponsor of those signs,
Ita81966@yahoo.com and found Bob Massaro used the same email to post amateur video he recorded of a Bernie Saunders
rally in Denver on YouTube.  It isn't a far leap to assume a person involved in the "occupy" movement who sends misleading
emails pretending to support the so-called "reform" candidates wouldn't also act on instructions by Councilman Trenary to
remove "illegal" signs if so instructed.

One victim of the sign stealing, school board candidate Aimie Randall, submitted evidence of numerous of large banner signs
torn down from the poles on private property where the owner's has all provided permission to Randall to post her signs.  
Randall stated,

"My campaign donations have come primarily from family and friends.  It is upsetting to me they gave funds to support me
and my vision for education only to have the fruits of their generosity stolen."

School board incumbents Denise Montagu and Pam Howard made statewide news lambasting a 69 year-old man for scribbling
"The Union Voice" on a white board placed on a public side-walk in-front of their campaign headquarters in downtown
Loveland.  Ironically, city ordinances prohibit placing campaign signs in the right-of-way and the center of the white board
displayed a campaign sign of Denise Montagu.  Apparently, that was one right-of-way violation Massaro and Trenary
apparently forgot to mention to city code enforcement officials.

Campaign volunteers of the two school board incumbent challengers (Tomi Grundvig and Vance Hansen) report their campaign
signs, when legally placed on private property and outside of the right-of-way, have the life expectancy of a ground hog on
Interstate I-25 when either Denise Montagu or Pam Howard are in the vicinity.  Neither candidate is suspected of actually
stealing signs themselves only knocking them over and bending the stands so they are no longer visible.

One homeowner, whose property backs to Wilson Blvd., reported seeing a mini-van similar to Pam Hoaward's speeding away
from two anti-incumbency signs that had been knocked down.  The mini-van had candidate names written in the back window
similar to the one picture right.  After repairing the signs, the homeowner reports both were gone by the morning.

Today the Loveland City Attorney agreed to release some complaints made by Bob Massaro and Ralph Trenary to code
enforcement.  We will post them here when the city does release those emails.  

Thompson School Board
Dist. A   Jeff Swanty                 Republican
Dist. A   Aimie Randall             Republican

Dist. C   Denise Montagu    Unaffiliated
Dist. C   Vance Hansen           Republican

Dist. D   Pam Howard            Unaffiliated
Dist. D   Tomi Grundvig           Republican

Dist. G   David Levy                Democrat
Dist. G   Bruce Finger             Republican

City of Loveland
Mayor   Cecil Gutierrez            Democrat

Ward I   Patrick McFall            Republican
Ward I   Richard Ball               Democrat

Ward II   Buddy Meyers           Republican
Ward II   Leah Johnson           Democrat

Ward III   John Fogle               Republican

Ward IV   Don Overcash         Republican
Ward IV   Ralph Trenary       Democrat
Signs Councilman Trenary
complained on Facebook
were illegally being displayed
(one than one per property)
were destroyed and removed
following his posting despite
city officials and property
owners confirming no laws
were being violated nor
property rights
Center - mini van witnessed by one
victim who said two "Return Civility -
Not Incumbents" signs were
knocked over.  
Loveland Councilman Ralph
Trenary (above) began lodging
erroneous complaints using his
city email account against his
opponent sign placements
beginning September 17,
followed by the Facebook posts
below when the city denied the
majority of his complaints.