Eagle Town Council campaign sign controversy results in tampering charge
Town Council candidate Casey Glowacki admits to removing signs, but only after his signs were removed
Nate Peterson/Vail Daily
Editor’s note: This story has been amended to reflect that Casey Glowacki claims he only removed one campaign sign of Eagle mayoral candidate Tom Olden.
The temperature in Eagle? Spicy.
Chalk it up to a Town Council race that continues to live up to the adage: the smaller the town, the bigger the politics.
Eagle Town Council candidate Casey Glowacki is at the center of a dispute involving campaign signs and allegations of political maneuvering. He faces a second-degree tampering charge for yanking out a sign of mayoral candidate Tom Olden on a piece of property in a prominent corner in town that’s owned by another council candidate, Todd Morrison.
Glowacki admits he pulled out one of Olden’s signs on Friday, Oct. 17, but said he did so after repeatedly having his signs removed on the same piece of property after receiving permission from Morrison to put them there.
Support Local Journalism
The Eagle Police Department on Thursday confirmed the tampering charge and said that the case has been forwarded to the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Olden, the owner of a mechanical timber harvesting contracting businesss, declined to return a call from the Vail Daily, as did resident Kate Sheldon, who Glowacki claims told him she pulled down his signs with Morrison’s permission.
Glowacki, who owns popular restaurants in Eagle and Edwards (Wild Sage, Capitol Public House, The Drunken Goat) along with butcher shops in both towns, said Morrison is a friend who told him his campaign signs were welcome on his property at the corner of Capitol Street and Grand Avenue.
Glowacki said Morrison’s wife is one of his best customers at Cut Eagle, his butcher shop, and that he and Morrison were aligned on similar objectives for the town when they both entered the race.
“So I asked Todd permission to put my sign up on his property, and Todd gave me wholehearted permission,” Glowacki said. “He asked if he could put his signs on my property, which I gave him permission. And I went by his house. I brought some signs by. Kumbaya. Everything was great.”
But three weeks later, when he returned to Eagle from visiting his sons in California, Glowacki drove by Morrison’s property and noticed his signs were on the ground.
“And I was like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know,'” he said. “I was like, who knows? We got these big winds and stuff like that. So, the next morning, I made a point to drive by, and the signs were on the ground. So, I texted and I called Todd. I have all this proof through text. And I said, ‘Hey, I noticed my signs are down on your property. Have you changed your tune about me? Do you not support me anymore?'”
Glowacki said Morrison texted him a picture from a boat in Texas.
“He said, ‘I’m on vacation. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Yeah, You absolutely can put your signs on my property,'” Glowacki said. “So, I put the signs back up. The next morning, I drive by. My signs are back down again. A Tom Olden sign and another Tom Olden sign is back up where my signs were, and mine are in the same spot that they were thrown the last two times.”
In response, Glowacki admits to taking down one of Olden’s signs. He acknowledged his actions to the Eagle police officers and expressed regret.
The situation escalated when Glowacki learned that Sheldon, allegedly acting with Morrison’s permission, was responsible for removing his signs. Glowacki has since sent an official apology letter to Olden.
“I was pissed, and I shouldn’t have done it,” Glowacki said. “I was raised differently.”
Glowacki said he considered dropping out of the race over the weekend but received an outpouring of support from residents who told him to stay in the race.
“Now I’m in it like 1,000 times more than I was Friday when the police showed up to my door,” he said.
That escalated quickly …
The controversy comes as the crowded races for Eagle’s mayoral seat and four Town Council positions have intensified as a slate of six candidates that includes Glowacki has joined forces in opposition to Olden and three other candidates, while others have tried to stay outside the fray.
Jason Cole, one of three mayoral candidates, suspended his campaign last week to endorse Bryan Woods, a current Town Council member.
“I got into this for a lot of reasons, and the title wasn’t one of them,” Cole said. “It was about continuing to push Eagle forward.”
Timothy Haley, a council candidate, also suspended his campaign to endorse Woods and a slate of candidates that includes Glowacki, Gina McCrackin, Geoff Grimmer, Scott Schreiner and Mark Bergman.
Haley said the five council candidates and Woods share his vision for smart growth in Eagle. Grimmer is an incumbent, while McCrackin, Glowacki, Schreiner and Bergman are first-time candidates.
Glowacki said he joined forces with Woods along with McCrackin, Grimmer, Schreiner and Bergman after it became clear to all of them at a recent candidate forum that Olden and a slate of three council candidates — Tania Jordet, Scott Davison, Robert Dagostino — were aligned.
Brian Kunkel, who owns two downtown watering holes, is running independently of both groups, Glowacki said.
Kunkel said just that in a recent post to his Facebook page, writing: “Interesting how the town council race has turned into team sports — everyone forming ‘tickets’ like it’s high school prom season. I was even told I should drop out because I might ‘split the vote.’ Guess that makes me the last independent voice standing.”
