Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, blocking up the scenery. . . The song could describe the mess left behind by city council candidates who littered the landscape with their signs before the November election and haven’t bothered to take them down. According to city code, campaign signs are supposed to be removed within seven days after the election. But an inspection of the city’s right-of-ways by Creative Loafing turned up dozens of signs left behind by council candidates Patrick Cannon, Patrick Mumford, Warren Cooksey, Paul Eich, Lynn Wheeler, Sara Spencer, Nancy Carter, Joe White and Malcolm Graham. Losing school board candidate Julian Wright was also one of the season’s worst offenders.
While several of the above who are elected may have voted for tough billboard ordinances, they apparently apply a double standard when it comes to their own signs.
Ironically enough, according to city code, private property owners can be fined $25 or more every 72 hours for not removing campaign signs from their yards within seven days of the election. But while planting signs in the right-of-way or the publicly owned area on the side of the road is supposed to be illegal, campaigns aren’t fined for doing it, says zoning administrator Robert Brandon. Why not? Because no one can prove who actually posted the sign there, no matter which candidate’s name it bears.
“It may have a phone number or street address, but the thing is, did we see the person actually place that there,” said Brandon.
Brandon said he is unaware of any fines issued for sign violations by his department this year. Instead, his employees have spent hours taking down campaign signs around town and are still doing it “as we speak,” said Brandon last week.
Brandon said he has no idea how long it will take his employees to take them all down. *
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2001.
