EASTON, MARYLAND — Sheriff Joe Gamble used the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page and his personal account Thursday to criticize a Talbot County Democratic Central Committee volunteer who had called for a boycott of Gay’s Seafood & Deli over campaign signs on the Washington Street property.

Lance Simon posted Wednesday on his personal Facebook page urging residents not to patronize the deli, the Star Democrat reported. Five election signs for Republican Talbot County Council candidates were displayed outside the business.

Gamble, a Republican, asked why anyone would support “driving a local business out of business.” He defended owner Rennie Gay’s character in a post the newspaper described as nearly 1,000 words, including a 2014 manhunt account in which Gamble said Gay “put himself between an armed and dangerous man and his community.”

Simon deleted the boycott post. He told the Star Democrat he had apologized to Gamble, saying he got “caught up in being a little bit perturbed” that the signs were not code-permitted. “I wish I had not called for a boycott because I’ve had a small business and you know, boycotting is just not very nice and should be left to extreme situations,” he said. He later wrote that he met Gay in person and bought crab soup.

Talbot County Democratic Central Committee chair Phil Jackson said Simon acted on his own, not as a committee volunteer. “Talbot Dems does not condone a boycott on a local business, never had, never would, never will,” Jackson said.

Greg Mueller, the Town of Easton’s public relations and communication specialist, confirmed to the Star Democrat that Gay’s Seafood had received a warning that its signs were not up to town code and needed to come down. Mueller said the notice went out Aug. 12, with a 15-day window, meaning removal by Aug. 27. Gay declined to comment.

The Star Democrat, citing town code for limited-duration signs, reported that a non-residential lot under five acres may display either two small signs of six square feet each or one large sign of 16 square feet. A Town of Easton Planning and Zoning quick-reference guide to Article XI lists the same limited-duration sizes for a standard parcel, a $150 permit fee, and a separate no-permit allowance of four small temporary signs of six square feet each.

As of that Thursday, the newspaper reported Gay’s still displayed signs for all five Republican council candidates: incumbents Chuck Callahan and Dave Stepp, and Frank Gunsallus, Christian Mackendrick, and Wade Strickland.