Driving down Clovis Avenue today on my way in to work, I noticed a few campaign signs (Dr. David Hadden, who won in the race for coroner) still hanging around between Clinton and Olive avenues. Winners and losers, get rid of the signs!
Before an election, campaign signs posted in a legal manner are a protected part of our First Amendment freedom of expression. Once the election has passed, however, they become graffiti, an unsightly blemish in our community. And some, mounted on road medians or on power and light poles, are illegal from the outset.
In the city of Fresno, candidates have until 15 days after the election to remove their signs (and that doesn't just mean laying them flat on the ground next to where they were displayed -- get them all the way gone). That deadline is tomorrow.
After tomorrow, citizens are encouraged to call the city's code enforcement staff if they see signs still posted after the deadline. We can also start a discussion here, and in the print version of the paper, if problems aren't resolved.
Where around our community are you still seeing election signs? And for which candidates?
Several Haddens, as mentioned, on Herndon by Villa, along with a ton of Minor's all over Sanger area and rural roads. Mestas has some over by Kings Canyon and Clovis Ave. along with all 3 (Hadden, Minor, Mestas) sprinkled down Clovis Avenue by Hwy 180. Spotted a Miller one and others at Fruit/Clinton and the list does goes on.
For as expensive as this campaign was for many, I would think that they wouldn't want to pay the fee for the officials to do it for them. Hiring companies to do the work as to placement or removal, may remove them a step or two from the citation, but if they don't know what the other hand is doing, I certainly hope that they didn't (or don't) win their campaign with that character!
Oh.. to live in Coalinga, Kingsburg, or Selma as their sign removal is almost instantly done after the election. Via the Election office there are different sign removal rules for different areas:
REMOVE WITHIN:
Clovis 14 days
Coalinga 5 days
Fresno 15 days
Kerman 14 days
Kingsburg 7 days
Sanger 15 days
Selma 7 days
Larry Wilder still has a big sign sitting at Golden State and Herndon.
Actually he (Miller) has several. Clinton & Fruit, Cedar & Teague, down Nees avenue. Just a shame that the Election Department doesn't make the Candidates go out in this heat and take those down, in addition to billing them for removal.
Now that Mestas has backed Minor in the Sheriff's election, maybe she can help him out with the signage clean-up as most of her strays are right next to his signs.
Also had someone say, well Minor is in the November election so he can leave them 'up' right? No. As the dates are listed in a prior post they also can not go up till 90 days prior which is approx. August 10th.
Thus having 6 weeks of a clean landscape would be a treat. If it's not clean, call the Election office and have them remove and bill the candidate to do so. It'll increase monies going into the County system that is already drought dry.
Let's at least get down the signs of the candidates who are out of the race.
I find it highly annoying to see signs polluting the sides of roads, and the election being over. I can understand a politician being busy, but even too busy to clean up signs that late after the election...?
Sounds like laziness...
When asked on the Ray Appleton show about his excessive signage on vacant properties and signs that didn't allow them to add on to theirs, etc., Mr. Minor said, "I hired a company to take care of that" and signed off on any knowledge of their actions. Having a person that doesn't know what the other hand is doing, is not someone I want in office. Also you'd think that if you have a profession in putting up signs you'd be able to take them down as well. Laziness yes, or maybe hissy fits for losing, but all in all irresponsible to those that take pride in keeping our landscapes 'clean'.
They need to be down now as all of the municipal areas and county areas are past 'dates of removal'. Even though in run-off for some or the main elections, they can't be posted again till August 9th or so 90 days prior to the election date.
By the way, all of the signs I had previously seen at the intersection of Clovis and Olive avenues (David Hadden, Cal Minor and Colleen Mestas) had been removed as of this morning.
Larry Wilder's are still up at Clinton and Fruit along with the intersection of Nees and Bond by the Woodward Park Post Office on a fence that belongs to the property owner, to name a few. Maybe he can blame the educational system under his watch, as to not knowing how to read the rules in the campaign handbook for candidates.