A Pacifica City Council candidate claims critics are targeting him after being captured on camera Friday spray-painting a negative political sign against his campaign, an incident that led to a citizen’s arrest and citation.
In the video, Sam Casillas appears to use white spray paint to alter a campaign sign that reads, “I would prefer that Sam not serve on City Council.” He’s seen replacing the word “not” with a heart. The sign has since been restored.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Oct. 2 at Arami Point near Rockaway Beach in Pacifica and was recorded by resident David Blackman, who created and put up the sign.
About an hour after defacing the sign, Casillas says he called the police after Blackman confronted him while walking his dog and charged toward him with clenched fists. When police arrived on the scene, Casillas was issued a citation for vandalism
In a statement to the Peninsula Buzz, Casillas said he spray painted a heart as a theatrical gesture.
“I never denied that I painted the heart on the illegally erected sign on Arami Point,” Casillas said. “My intent was not malicious but rather light-hearted.”
Despite conflicting accounts of the arrest, Casillas said he was never handcuffed or taken to jail. He also said the citation carries no criminal penalties and does not list a specific court date.
Casillas says Pacifica’s current leadership does not want him to win the November election and is “upset” about the changes he wants to make if elected to council.
“Upset enough for the owners of these signs to plant hidden cameras and then track me down while walking my dogs in my neighborhood and threaten me to the point where a witness had to intervene and for me to call the police for fear of my safety,” Casillas said.
The Peninsula Buzz contacted the City Manager’s Office for comment, but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.
In a post to Nextdoor, Blackman — a lifelong Pacifican and local developer with a few “No on Sam” signs around the city — says his disdain for Casillas comes from personal experiences with his conduct and concerns about his judgment. He said his signs meet legal requirements and are on private property with the owner’s permission.
“You don’t have to like my signs or agree with my opinion,” Blackman wrote. “But I believe a person seeking public office should respect people’s property and their right to disagree with him.”
Casillas, 59, is running to represent Pacifica’s District 5 on city council against lifelong educator Margo Meiman to replace Sue Beckmeyer, who is termed out. He is the current president of the Pacifica Land Trust.
“When I knocked on doors since this incident, I was heartened to find that voters do not care about my heart being painted in the wrong place, because my heart is in the right place when it comes to Pacifica,” Casillas said.