Sunday, a group of volunteers spent the afternoon scrubbing and spraying Dr. Windel Dickerson's sidewalk.
Last weekend, Dickerson's campaign signs and sidewalk were vandalized. Signs supporting Clinton and Bill Matta were covered in spray paint. On the sidewalk in black and white graffiti were the words, Benghazi, lies, and phrases about corruption.
When Dickerson woke up the damage he was surprised.
"I said some trump supporter just got a little carried away with their enthusiasm," Dickerson laughed.
In fact, Dickerson tried to come from a place of compassion. He believes whoever tagged the signs and sidewalk were especially passionate.
"I empathize with them but [their efforts] need to be more cooperative," he added.
Word of the vandalism spread quickly. Dickerson said he received an outpouring of support from people all over the political spectrum. Delisa Russell and her husband showed up Sunday to the clean up with a power washer. She knows Dr. Dickerson and the work he does in the community and was upset someone would do that to him.
"I think the most disturbing thing about this is that it's not a democratic issue. It's not a republican issue. There are people on both sides of the fence here. But it's a right and wrong. We're Americans and we shouldn't do this type of thing to another American," Russell said.
Originally Dickerson was going to leave the graffiti up until after an election. Implying it would serve as a visual of how toxic the partisan fighting has become. With Halloween approaching, there was some concern about children seeing it.
A bipartisan cleaning committee was formed. Volunteers brought gloves, paint thinner, and brushes, by the end of the afternoon much of the paint had faded. Neighbors periodically stopped by offering cleaning suggestion and offering words of support. At the end of the clean up Dickerson had a special message for supporters about those vandals.
"Those who did this, go right ahead and love them anyway," Dickerson said.
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