The Dunedin mayoral and council candidate was the first to get her signs up in strategic locations around the city at the start of local body election campaigning earlier this month.
But no sooner had she got them up, some of them - or at least parts of them - began disappearing.
Since August 14, Mrs Houlahan said she had lost five signs to vandalism, theft or a vanishing act.
In Maia, someone had gone to the effort of cutting out her face over the weekend, while leaving the rest of the sign behind.
The NZ Transport Agency had also helpfully removed three of her signs from the side of the Caversham bypass, only to admit later it had erred in doing so.
But by then, two of the signs had been misplaced and only one could be returned, she said.
And then there was the mystery of the vanishing sign which disappeared in North Dunedin.
"Somewhere in North Dunedin, I'm sitting in a flat, I presume.''
Mrs Houlahan took the losses in her stride, but after paying "a little bit less'' than $2500 for 15 signs, the costs were starting to add up.
"I realise if you run for public office, these sort of things happen, but it is quite annoying. I am starting to feel like my signs are disappearing before my eyes, literally.''
Deputy electoral officer Sharon Bodeker said she was not aware of any other reports of vandalism of election signs around Dunedin so far.
