Photos show former candidate burning Raleigh City Council member’s campaign sign
Former Raleigh City Council candidate Zainab Baloch posted and deleted photos on social media over the weekend of herself holding a burning campaign sign of incumbent City Council member Jonathan Melton.
Two photos were posted to Baloch’s Instagram account: One showed her holding a lighted campaign sign with the downtown skyline in the background, and the other showed her watching the sign burn.
“They provoke, we react,” the caption on the post stated. “No complaints. I’m a flame. Light a match.”
On Monday the post containing the two photos was gone.
“Over the weekend, I chose to commit an act of radical resistance to call attention to the colonization of our city perpetuated by actions and inactions of the Mayor (Mary-Ann) Baldwin, Melton and others,” Baloch wrote in a statement after being contacted by The News & Observer.
“Our voice as the people of Raleigh has been attacked and stolen from us by this council. Oppression comes in many forms,” she wrote.
Baloch will appear on the ballot as one of five candidates for the Raleigh City Council District B seat, but she announced on Twitter in September that she was formally ending her campaign.
‘Systems of oppression’
“The Raleigh City Council election taking place on Nov 8th, 2022 is the most important in our cities history,” Baloch wrote in the statement. “It’s why I chose like other women around the country and world to resist these systems of oppression.
“It’s disgusting to continuously hear people like the Mayor and Melton talk about how much they care about affordable housing and people, yet just one look at their track record shows every single motion, action, and vote they’ve taken has been against the betterment of poor and working class folks,” she wrote.
When asked why she took down the post, Baloch replied, “so I wouldn’t get arrested.”
Melton, who was elected in 2019 to one of two at-large seats, is also seeking re-election.
He confirmed he’d seen the photos but said his campaign didn’t plan to take legal action.
“It was unfortunate to see it posted on social media, but it’s not something I am really concerning myself with at this point,” Melton said. “I am just focused on governing and winning my election.”
A misdemeanor
It is a class 3 misdemeanor for a person to “steal, deface, vandalize or unlawfully remove a political sign that is lawfully placed” under state law.
The Wake County Board of Elections said it hadn’t received any complaints about campaign sign removals or vandalism involving the Raleigh City Council elections.
All eight seats on the council, including the mayor’s, are up for election. Early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 20.
In 2017, Baloch’s campaign made headlines after one of her campaign signs was defaced with a racial slur. Two years later Baloch ran unsuccessfully for mayor.
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 11:34 AM.
