The increasingly contentious campaign regarding dogs on Willard Beach draws to a close with the approach of Election Day on Nov. 3.

A dog is pictured on the signs of both supporters and opponents of a ballot question that would ban dogs at Willard Beach from spring to early fall, and require they be on leashes the rest of the year.

But that’s about all that the two groups have in common as the increasingly contentious campaign regarding dogs on the popular South Portland beach draws to a close with the approach of Election Day on Nov. 3.

A drawing of a smiling yellow Labrador is pictured on the sign for opponents of the ban, a group called Share Willard Beach. “No Dog Ban,” the sign reads. The sign urges sharing the beach.

Supporters of the ban, a group called Save Willard Beach, depict on their sign a photograph of a dog relieving itself on the beach. That photo is juxtaposed with another photo of a toddler playing in the sand.

“Do you want to play in this?” the sign reads. “You can change it.” The sign urges a vote in favor of the ban.

In less than two weeks, South Portland voters will decide the issue of dogs on Willard Beach.

They will be asked at the polls whether they want to approve an ordinance change to ban dogs from the small beach – which is less than a half a mile long – from April 15 to Oct.15. Dogs would be allowed on the beach between Oct. 16 and April 14, but only on a leash.

The new language would be a significant change from current city ordinance. Dog owners now can take their dogs on Willard Beach from May 1 through Sept. 30 from 7-9 a.m. and from 7-9 p.m. The rest of the year, dogs are allowed on the beach from 6 a.m.-9 p.m. They must be on a leash or under voice control at all times.

Both proponents and opponents of the dog ban have formed political action committees and have their own Web sites. And their different stances aren’t the only things that separate the two groups. Each says the other is trying to mislead voters with their messages. And supporters of the ban claim opponents have destroyed or stolen nearly half of their 225 signs.

“It’s clear that someone thinks that we shouldn’t have the right to voice our opinion,” said Gary Crosby, of Save Willard Beach, is leading the effort to impose the ban. “Clearly, it’s someone that opposes us.”

Tom Ayres, spokesman for Share Willard Beach, denied his group tampered with the signs. “He has absolutely no evidence of that. Nothing could be farther from the truth.”

Ayres said about 20 of the 214 Share Willard Beach signs have been vandalized, as well.

Crosby, who also is running for City Council on Nov. 3, said he has reported the vandalism of his group’s signs to police.

South Portland police Lt. Todd Bernard confirmed Monday that Crosby had made a report. Police have no suspects at this point, he said.

The current ordinance language regarding dogs on Willard Beach was approved by the City Council earlier this year. The council voted on the ordinance after hearing recommendations from the Willard Beach Task Force, a group the council commissioned to consider the issue of dogs on the beach.

Crosby, who was on the task force, said he considered it biased, so he became “the driving force” in getting the question on the ballot this fall.

He said more than 1,000 people from all over the city signed a petition earlier this year to put the issue before voters.

He said he could have gotten the question on the June ballot but wanted it decided in November, when more people go the polls. “That way you know you’ve got a good representation of the people,” he said.

Crosby lives about two miles from Willard Beach and owns a dog himself, a Siberian husky.

He said he walks her on the city’s Greenbelt pathway on a leash – carrying plastic bags to clean up after her – and never takes her to Willard Beach.

That’s because he has a 3-year-old granddaughter who likes to play on the beach, Crosby said. “I don’t let my dog go to the bathroom where my granddaughter plays.”

But Ayres contends that Crosby’s group is distorting reality when it comes to dogs relieving themselves on the beach.

“They’re constantly talking about dogs soiling the beach,” Ayres said. “But what they don’t tell people is that South Portland has a pooper scooper law and that the vast majority of dog owners are cleaning up after their dogs.”

But, Crosby said, hundreds of dogs use Willard Beach and that it’s impossible for owners to clean up every speck.

“The soil is contaminated,” he said. “There’s no way they’re going to get it all.”

On its Web site, Share Willard Beach says a majority of the task force, one of whose members was a doctor, “believed there is no medical or scientific health risk from human contact with canine fecal matter on saltwater beaches in Maine.”

But Crosby’s group says that is contradicted by other medical evidence.

Ayres has two Australian shepherds that he takes to Willard Beach about four times a week. He said his dogs enjoy the opportunity to run without a leash.

“They’re high-energy dogs that need a lot of attention and exercise,” he said.

But he also enjoys the experience, Ayres said.

“For me, it’s a personal thing,” he said of the proposed dog ban. “I live in the neighborhood and one of the reasons my wife and I chose to buy into that neighborhood is the accessibility of Willard Beach.”

Crosby says that the new ordinance language would allow dog owners to share the beach – for half the year in the months when humans aren’t likely to be sitting and lying in the sand.

But, Ayres said, “That’s not a fair and equal sharing of the beach…Why not share it the whole year through?”

He said his group simply wants a continuation of the current ordinance, in which dogs are limited to just four hours a day in the warm months, two in the early mornings and two in the evenings.

“We are very strong supporters of the current ordinance,” Ayres said.

By late last week, Share Willard Beach reported raising nearly $6,000 for the campaign, which the group said came from more than 200 individuals, 75 percent of them from South Portland. Another 10 percent were from Cape Elizabeth residents, Ayres said.

Crosby says many people from outside South Portland are using the beach to walk their dogs. Ayres said the donations show that the beach is widely used by South Portland dog owners and their neighbors in Cape Elizabeth.

Crosby said his group had raised a little more than $1,000.

Both sides say they’ve gotten positive feedback during the campaign from voters and believe they can prevail at the polls.

For his part, Crosby said he would accept whatever the voters decide.

“I will stand behind it 100 percent win or lose,” Crosby said. “I brought it to the people so the people could make a choice.”

Dogs or no dogs? A question on the South Portland municipal ballot Nov. 3 would change a city ordinance to ban dogs on Willard Beach from April 15 to Oct. 15. Dogs would be allowed between Oct. 16 and April 14, but only on a leash. (Staff photo by Tess Nacelewicz)