UPDATE: Reed Canvassing Director Took Signs, Source Says
(APN) ATLANTA — According to a high-level source familiar with the matter, the vehicle with the apparently stolen Mary Norwood signs in the back seat belongs to Reed’s Canvassing Director, Patrick Meredith.
The source who identified the vehicle to APN asked to remain confidential, but we can note that they are not in any way tied to a rival campaign nor are they connected to the person who originally took the photos of the vehicle with the signs for Atlanta Progressive News.
APN provided this information and the license plate number to the Reed Campaign late yesterday evening, and the campaign promised to look into it. Previously, the campaign promised to fire the person whose car it was if they worked for the campaign.
The Reed campaign, however, did not return a call from Atlanta Progressive News as of this morning.
It also turns out that the parking lot that the car was in is shared by not only the Ace Hardware, but Kasim Reed’s West End headquarters, according to two sources.
Meanwhile, a owner of rental properties in Southwest Atlanta notified APN that he believes the signs were stolen from his properties.
“We had a number of Norwood signs stolen over the weekend from a number of rental properties that I own in SW Atlanta. In almost every instance they were replaced by a Kasim Reed sign. My guess is that the signs in the back of that vehicle were the ones stolen from my rental properties,” the individual wrote.
“You are welcome to use this information any way you see fit, but I would request that you leave my name out of any blog posts for confidentiality reasons. However, I will cooperate in the event any criminal charges result from this situation,” he wrote.
A review of the most recent quarterly campaign disclosures shows that Patrick Meredith was on staff as Canvassing Director for Kasim Reed for Mayor, and was paid a total of $6,000 last quarter for his work. Previously, Meredith worked for the Democratic Party of Georgia.
Meredith did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The Norwood campaign said they were troubled by what appeared to be theft, but have not yet decided whether to press charges.
APN first attempted to find out the owner of the license plate through a public search; however such information is considered private under Georgia law.
If the Norwood campaign does decide to press charges, they could possibly verify ownership of the vehicle.
Previously, Atlanta Progressive News reported that a vehicle with a Kasim Reed for Mayor bumper sticker was spotted with a back seat full of apparently-stolen Mary Norwood for Mayor yard signs. APN published the exclusively-obtained photographs yesterday.
The photographs were taken by another candidate running for City Council who happened to see the car when they were going to an Ace Hardware store in the West End early yesterday.
The person released the photos to Atlanta Progressive News on condition of anonymity. They said they first saw the car with the signs, but didn’t have their camera. They then returned home to get their camera and came back, adding, “The Lord let the car still be there.”
The photographs show the vehicle was a black Nissan Exterra SUV with a Cherokee County license plate; the tag number was also obtained by APN.
The vehicle had a Kasim Reed for Mayor sticker in its back window, and in the back seat were a stack of Mary Norwood yardsigns.
The individual who took the photos said they were outraged because they believe their campaign yardsigns have been getting stolen as well.
“You’re implying someone related to the campaign is taking yard signs,” Reese McCranie, spokesperson for the Reed campaign told APN, said yesterday when first learning of the photographs. “Whoever that might be, if they’re with the campaign, they’re not going to be with the campaign any longer,” McCranie said.
“I’ll need to speak with the campaign manager about it. This is something we would not condone in any way, shape, or form,” McCranie said.
“It could be an overzealous supporter- we have to consider that as an option,” McCranie said.
After seeing the photographs, McCranie added the photos appeared to be genuine. “It’s pretty clear, it’s all coming from the same shot. It’s not Photoshopped. I have never seen that car before,” McCranie said.
McCranie said he did not believe it was a staff member because “our entire staff [except one person]… were in the Pride festival today from 10 to maybe 3.”
The person who took the photographs noted that this made sense because the vehicle remained parked in the parking lot during those approximate hours, which allowed them to go get their camera and return. Apparently, the staffer had been at the Pride festival during those hours and left their car parked in the lot during that time.
About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for Atlanta Progressive News and is reachable at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.
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