Why aren't candidates responsible for their signs?

[TheTravellers]

Saw this in a newsok.com story and it just seems stupid.

Q: Are candidates responsible for illegal campaign signs?

A: The people who actually put the signs out are responsible for them.

So Joe Blow puts a sign up illegally for a candidate and he gets the fine, not the candidate? And apparently you have to catch someone in the act in order for there to be any action:

Q: Who enforces the rules?

A: Code inspectors can write tickets when they see someone putting up an illegal sign. It’s a Class A offense punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Why not consequences for the candidates, why can't the city pull up all of a candidate's illegal signs and ticket them for each sign (or location, if multiple signs in a location)? Seems like that would be a way to cut down on the practice, otherwise, it will continue forever....

Are other cities/villages/etc. like this (with basically no consequences for illegal campaign signs)?

[rezman]

I don't know if this is still the case but candidates used to get charged a certain amount .. like a dollar per sign that city crews had to pick up. I don't know if they do this any more. The reason illegal sign laws aren't enforced is because so many of our city and county official are elected, and they used campaign signs too, so it would be the pot calling the kettle black. It's kind of like an unspoken code during elections that officials look the other way. I do wish there was some enforcement starting the day after the elections were over.

Kind of funny though, seems most of the signs I still see up are those belonging to the losers.

[Mel]

The 30 signs at one intersection for the same candidate is annoying. The sign placers are being lazy.

[warreng88]

Since the elections happen on Tuesday, I would think giving them until the end of the work week (Friday) or they would be fined $1 for every sign the city has to pick up starting Saturday. Just pay people $10/hour to ride around in a truck removing signs from all over the city starting Saturday morning and bring them all back to one central location. Count up the signs and send the bill to the politician.

[TheTravellers]

Since the elections happen on Tuesday, I would think giving them until the end of the work week (Friday) or they would be fined $1 for every sign the city has to pick up starting Saturday. Just pay people $10/hour to ride around in a truck removing signs from all over the city starting Saturday morning and bring them all back to one central location. Count up the signs and send the bill to the politician.

Yep, this would work. I think that's already being done by the city with their 4 part-time people whose salaries total up to $32K/annually, but I believe they just throw them away, no bill to anybody. :-(

It's sign blight season in OKC | News OK

[Dennis Heaton]

Sheesh...just wait until November! Those friggin signs "always" appear "overnight." Hmmmmm...maybe if the City would pay law-abiding citizens a bounty for capturing the perps on video...?????

[Bullbear]

Can you imagine if the Candidates where responsible and fines for illegal sign placing?.. OMG the way politics run around here we would see an aposing candidate paying someone to post the oppositions signs illegally so they would be fined. I think there should be a limit on signs and sign placement for sure. its very wasteful in my opinion.

[bucfan1512]

There was a bar somewhere that was giving .10 cents off your bill for every sign you brought in.

[TheTravellers]

There was a bar somewhere that was giving .10 cents off your bill for every sign you brought in.

Hopefully after closing, they took all the signs to the respective candidate's offices and duct-taped them to their windows...

[trousers]

It was Sean Cummings.
Sean Cummings Pub offering discount for campaign sign clean-up efforts | Red Dirt Report

[Questor]

If I remember correctly, it's illegal for private citizens to remove political signs on public property without permission. If someone illegally puts signs up on your private property, it's your responsibility to clean it up. If you don't, you can be fined. If you contact the politician, they'll claim no responsibility and say they can't control their fan base. To me, this is Oklahoma politics in a nutshell.

[PhiAlpha]

I helped put a bunch up over the last few weeks. Many of us offered to pick them up this week, but were told that the candidates pay to have them picked up by the city. No conspiracy here...if the city/state doesn't want to be responsible for them, they should put that on the candidates and not charge for the service.


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[TheTravellers]

I helped put a bunch up over the last few weeks. Many of us offered to pick them up this week, but were told that the candidates pay to have them picked up by the city. No conspiracy here...if the city/state doesn't want to be responsible for them, they should put that on the candidates and not charge for the service.


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The article about the city picking them up (a few posts up) seems to indicate that the city picks them up and disposes of them on their own, with no financial help from the candidates. I'd probably believe the city over a candidate.

[rezman]

The article about the city picking them up (a few posts up) seems to indicate that the city picks them up and disposes of them on their own, with no financial help from the candidates. I'd probably believe the city over a candidate.

That's why the candidate should receive the bill, no matter what. Tax payers should not have to foot the bill for cleaning up their mess.

[Jersey Boss]

That's why the candidate should receive the bill, no matter what. Tax payers should not have to foot the bill for cleaning up their mess.

Tax payers should not be footing the bill for the primary elections in the first place. If a tax payer can't vote in the primary due to not being a member of the party, why should they pay for sign removal or the election? Let the political part pay for all of it.

[Dubya61]

Tax payers should not be footing the bill for the primary elections in the first place. If a tax payer can't vote in the primary due to not being a member of the party, why should they pay for sign removal or the election? Let the political part pay for all of it.

This is an appealing concept, but would you end up with a candidate who is pre-chosen by the party? Let's say for discussion sake that the Republican Party (bosses) liked Sally Kern and wanted to make sure that she was elected. If they're running the primary, they could conceivably make it so that the polling places were favorable to her and unfavorable to her opponent.
Again, like the concept. It would take some enforcement, though, to make sure we at least had the facade of avoiding an oligarchy.

[PhiAlpha]

The article about the city picking them up (a few posts up) seems to indicate that the city picks them up and disposes of them on their own, with no financial help from the candidates. I'd probably believe the city over a candidate.

Didn't hear it directly from the candidates, but from the other supporters I was working with.


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[FritterGirl]

I helped put a bunch up over the last few weeks. Many of us offered to pick them up this week, but were told that the candidates pay to have them picked up by the city. No conspiracy here...if the city/state doesn't want to be responsible for them, they should put that on the candidates and not charge for the service.


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Those other workers were misinformed. This is unequivocally not true, unless they are trying to say that as taxpayers, their tax dollars go to support sign pick-up. The City has no kind of program wherein it invoices political candidates for sign pick-up. Sign pick-up is done either by volunteers (and yes, citizens CAN pick up signs from rights of way if they are part of an HOA/NA that has been through the sign training offered by the City), or City staff.

[Bullbear]

Those other workers were misinformed. This is unequivocally not true, unless they are trying to say that as taxpayers, their tax dollars go to support sign pick-up. The City has no kind of program wherein it invoices political candidates for sign pick-up. Sign pick-up is done either by volunteers (and yes, citizens CAN pick up signs from rights of way if they are part of an HOA/NA that has been through the sign training offered by the City), or City staff.

Sign training made me giggle.

[boscorama]

The state ethics commission requires candidates to file campaign reports. Perhaps the sign issue should be their baby.

About all those other junky signs (We Buy Cars Running or Not, We Build Houses, etc) have no time restrictions. I was glad they were temporarily blocked by political signs.