ORANGE PARK, Fla. – A former mayor of the Town of Orange Park found himself in a pickle last month after he was accused of stealing a sign. And we’re not talking baseball.
Even though he has not held office since 2018, former Orange Park MayorWilliam Eugene Nixis facing scrutiny after police said he was caught on video swiping a campaign sign and swapping it with another candidate’s sign.
Orange Park Town Council candidate Doug Benefield, 40, reported to Orange Park police on March 25 that one of his campaign signs had been taken, and another had been removed and thrown over a fence.
The sign that was taken near a mailbox at Azaleana Manor, a wedding venue in Orange Park, was replaced with a sign supporting Benefield’s rival, candidate Chuck Lindholm.\
When police called Lindholm to ask about the campaign sign, he “advised (that) Gene Nix placed the Chuck Lindholm sign.”
The officer investigating then called Nix, who admitted he placed the Lindholm sign outside Azaleana Manor but said there “wasn’t another sign there” when he did it.
“I don’t have that sign,” Nix told officers.
Video evidence later proved otherwise, police said.
When the officer followed up on March 30, he was able to get video surveillance from Moosehaven, which is across the street from Azaleana Manor.
The incident report said the video shows an older man getting out of white pickup truck in the service entry driveway of Azaleana Manor, placing a campaign sign in the ground next to an existing sign, then removing the existing sign and putting it in the bed of his truck.
Police said the driver was identified as Nix, and the truck was matched to a vehicle owned by Nix.
When police told Benefield who was responsible for the sign theft, he declined to press charges, the report said.
“This is illegal and embarrassing behavior from any person, much less from a former Mayor. The Town of Orange Park is a wonderful place to live and raise a family, and fortunately, this behavior isn’t reflective of our warm, tight-knit community,” Benefield said.
Lindholm also commented on the matter, saying, “I do not condone the former mayor’s actions. At the time of the theft, I didn’t think much of the missing signs. We had more than 100 dollars in signs that went missing, and I thought it was the result of yard crews.”
We reached out to Nix for comment. We did not receive a response.
The Super Tuesday Election is scheduled for April 14.