By Alex Fees

St. Charles County, MO (KSDK) - Representatives of the two major political parties in St. Charles have taken a stand against vandalism of campaign signs during this political season.

The St. Charles County Republican and Democratic Party committee chairs have each pledged $250 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for damaging or stealing political campaign yard signs.

Here and elsewhere there have been cases of vandalism to such signs in past political seasons.

St. Charles County party officials are agreeing to protect each other's rights to disagree, in what clearly is an issue of Freedom of Speech.

"If there's a candidate you don't like, you have the opportunity to vote against them; you have the opportunity to get their opponent's sign in your yard, or on private property that you might own," said Jon Bennett, St. Charles County Republican Central Committee Chair. "And that's what we would prefer you would do."

Bennett's Democratic counterpart, Morton Todd, said, "We spend a lot of money on these signs and volunteers come in and put them up. For somebody to come in and trash them, I don't think they realize it's a felony and they could go to jail and be fined for it."

With Election Day and Halloween fast approaching, St. Charles County political party officials decided it would be a good idea to get the word out.

And that word is tolerance.

KSDK