A Keys politician didn’t like his rival’s sign. So he and the city clerk stole it, cops say
A Marathon city councilman and the Marathon city clerk were jailed Sunday after police said they stole a campaign sign from outside a rival politician’s business.
Councilman Dan “Doc” Zieg, 68, and his girlfriend City Clerk Diane Clavier, 50, were arrested after they told Monroe County sheriff’s deputies they took the sign because they believed it was a political campaign sign that needed to come down after the Nov. 5 election, when Zieg won another term.
The yellow sign read “Drop Doc Zieg,” with the universal symbol for “No” drawn over Zieg.
And it belongs to fellow Councilman Mark Senmartin, who had placed it outside his pawn shop business, Cash Flow Jewelry at 11400 Overseas Highway in late October, according to the arrest report.
“It was just a sign of my disapproval of him,” Senmartin said Monday. “My freedom of speech.”
Even if it were an official campaign sign, Senmartin said, there is a process to have it taken down.
Zieg and Clavier were each arrested on a charge of petit theft, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to 500 upon conviction.
They were released from jail after posting $250 bonds. They were also ordered to have no contact with Senmartin, other than council business.
Clavier said she didn’t know the sign belonged to Senmartin “because it didn’t have his name on it,” police reported, and that although it’s not in her job duties to remove old campaign signs she occasionally removes ones she finds on city property to avoid a code violation.
Neither Zieg nor Clavier returned phone messages.
The alleged theft was captured by the pawn shop’s security camera at 1:22 p.m. Nov. 25.
The video shows a purple Jaguar pulling up in a parking spot outside the pawn shop. Clavier gets out of the passenger side and then returns to the car with the sign and places it inside the Jag.
Zieg told police he was the driver of the Jaguar and that he told Clavier to “go get it,” and she removed the sign.
On Nov. 27, Senmartin said he noticed his sign was missing.
After reviewing the security tape, he emailed Clavier and asked her to return the sign by the end of the day and he wouldn’t involve the police. But when he hadn’t received a reply, Senmartin said he decided to pursue criminal charges.
“As of right this minute, I’m letting the police handle everything,” said Senmartin, 49. “I’m not interested in any type of negotiation.”
Senmartin, who wasn’t on the ballot this year, said the case is about more than someone taking a sign from outside his store.
“You’ve got a sitting city councilman ordering the city clerk to commit a crime,” said Senmartin, who has held office for six years.
Clavier showed deputies an email she sent Senmartin on Dec. 4 offering to pay restitution for the sign, which Senmartin said is worth $25.
Senmartin and Zieg are often on opposite sides of many city issues.
And recently, Clavier said she filed an ethics complaint against Senmartin for trademarking the city of Marathon’s logo, and she said he was pressing charges as retaliation.
Senmartin still owns the trademark.
“I didn’t even know about the complaint” at the time the sign was taken down, Senmartin said Monday.
As for Zieg and Clavier saying they thought it was a campaign sign, Senmartin said he doesn’t buy it.
“He has three times run for office,” Senmartin said. “He knows what a campaign sign looks like.”
Senmartin said that before they removed the sign, neither Zieg nor Clavier had asked him to take it down.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:20 PM.
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