Signs of the times 2005

I have long felt that the placement of candidates' yard signs can tell you a lot. Each of us tends to put signs in places we think people are likely to see them, usually based on places we ourselves feel likely to see them. For example, if there are gaps in signage, we don't notice them unless we see the gaps ourselves.

Since most yard signs are put up by friends of the candidate, if not the candidate herself, they tell us a lot about the milieu of each candidate. Do they spend a lot of time near local schools, downtown, the mall, the grocery store, parks?

Today I went on a walk to see what yard signs are up in my neighborhood. I walked about a mile west into downtown Carrboro and a mile east into downtown Chapel Hill. Here is what I saw...

Here are SOME of the many signs I saw in downtown Carrboro:

Here are ALL of the signs I saw in downtown Chapel Hill (East Franklin and East Rosemary Streets and Town Hall):

Please add to this collection! Take pictures around your part of town, upload them to Flickr, and tag them op2005.

Only a few eligible candiates were missing in Carrboro: David Marshall, Jean Hamilton, and Pam Hemminger. However, in Chapel Hill I found only one sign (Jeff Danner) on the entire length of West Franklin Street, from the town line to Columbia Street. Similarly only one sign (Bill Thorpe) was on West Rosemary. Three Council candidate signs were in the vicinity of Town Hall. I know there are vandals hard at work all over town, but can we really blame them for seven candidates candidates being compeletly MIA and the rest having such an anemic presence?

All of this raises some questions for me. Is downtown a less appealing neighborhood for candidate advertising? Why wouldn't you get some more bang for your buck by putting your signs in the most-travelled part of town? Does no-one at all want the votes of the hundreds of people I saw walking around downtown today?

For a Town Council that often talks of wanting more people to live downtown, they don't seem think much about the thousands of us that already do.

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Will Raymond was gracious enough to let me tag along with his sign-placing adventure today, and we hit a few intersections on the west end of downtown in our trek around Chapel Hill. So check again this afternoon. :)

There are three things keeping my signs out of downtown (at least at the moment). 1) Many of the stretches just don't seem appropriate for sign placement; 2) I know many of them will disappear, especially at Halloween (expect to see several go up Nov. 1st); and 3) I don't drive when I go downtown - I'm always on a bus or bike. I keep making this claim to myself that I'm going to remember to bring some on my way to class in the mornings, but never seem to remember. Then, when I borrow a car to go put them up in the evenings, I claim to myself that downtown is a silly place to target because I'll "just get it tomorrow."

I guess this brings a question for me, being a student and only having had three years of experience in town... What places, if any, are off limits to you for signs? I avoid corners where I think my sign is going to "feel" like it's in someone's yard without their permission. Until recently, I was avoiding public buildings like the library and Town Hall, but it seems none of the other candidates had qualms about putting them there so I'm starting to join them. What is the limit? I'd much rather have a smidgeon less name recognition than to step on someone's toes or offend their sense of sign-decency. Any suggestions?

Jason, All public property is fair game. In Carrboro, my conscience bothers me when I put signs in the way of Public Works activity -- but they won't be cutting grass again until spring, and name recognition is VERY important.

Definitely avoid any property obviously maintained or otherwise appearing to belong to a homeowner. Aim for right-of-ways near churches.

I agree with Jason. Because I don't have a sign in a place that is highly pedestrian oriented doesn't mean that I don't want to attract my name recognition, or that I somehow don't care about the particular area. I just have heard that that the signs won't last long. Because I don't have a sign in a particular neighborhood ABSOLUTELY IN NO WAY means that I don't care that they see my sign, or that I don't care about the neighborhood, etc. For example, I have spoken vehemently about improving downtown Franklin Street, and will continue to do so. But because I don't put a sign there does not mean that I don't care.

I know that I was the first to put up signs in Chapel Hill. But I can't get over the emphasis that people have placed on signs this election season, and last. I'm a nonincumbent and wanted name recognition with my signs. But other than THAT, it is the PERSON that we are electing. Because there is no Laurin Easthom sign in a particular place does not mean that I don't care or that I'm "missing". I hope that my getting out and meeting people in the places mentioned above means more than my signs.

Something that has always made me wonder is candidates who put several signs one right after the other, or one right next to the other, in the spanse of a few feet. What is the thought process behind this, can anyone tell me? Do they think we didn't see the one 2 feet before or two feet after the one in the middle? It just seems terribly wasteful to me. I was driving down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. the other day and saw one of these offenders' signs blowing across the road. "Fitting," I thought.

Jackie, repetition is a standard advertising technique. Especially for signs in places where you might drive by quickly, I can see the logic in it.

It does seem like signs are falling apart and/or getting vandalized more and more. Maybe in the future we will have a candiate who can come up with a creative alterantive, maybe one that involves less waste.

My signs are being stolen and/or vandalized at a rate of about 4 a day. I really tried to be conservative with the # of signs and the length of time I had them up to reduce the "visual litter", but considering how many have gone missing, I can see why some people carpet bomb with signs in the hope that some will stay up.

To all canidates-remember to take your signs down around Holloween or you will have them stolen.
This happens every year.In all my years of being invovled in elections I have never known anyone to take down another canidates signs.I imagine there is a frat house or dorm some place with our signs on the walls!
JAcquie

> Maybe in the future we will have a candiate who can come up
> with a creative alterantive, maybe one that involves less
> waste.

That creative spark hasn't hit me yet, but rather than letting the waste hit the landfills I wanted to let the other candidates know about a nonprofit I volunteer for which puts used election signs to good use. Public Assembly, named after one of the five freedoms in the First Amendment, is a non-profit organization dedicated to involving children and adults in public arts activities to promote non-violence and civil liberties. From our website:

We've all seen those signs littering the public right-of-way with messages trumpeting the names of political candidates (and nothing on the issues). On weekends, this public space is invaded by numerous commercial signs promoting the latest sprawling housing developments. But what about the issues of concern to most people that are being underplayed by most election campaigns and the corporate-dominated media?

You can help clean up after this election and help see to it that those signs get “recycled” with meaningful messages about war and peace, jobs and justice. In the spirit of Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin, you can help revitalize our civic discourse by hauling up as many of those signs as possible before they become litter or landfill. You can stencil them and put them back out along the roadsides with your own messages, or give them to another group working for peace, liberty and justice for all. They are great for advertising public meetings or rallies, or just for getting people to think! It is also one of the few ways people with little money can exercise their First Amendment rights and reach a larger public without working through commercially controlled channels.

And along those lines, Will Raymond and I have both volunteered to collect campaign signs after the election and return them to their owners. Of course, we'll only be doing this for candidates who grant us their permission... but if anyone doesn't want their signs (or some portion of their signs), I'll deliver any leftovers to Raleigh where Public Assembly is "based" (and by that, I mean, where we have a garage to keep supplies).

I was delighted to see Will and Jason signs up on the Chapel Hill side of Roger's Rd. It's a nice gesture to let future annexees know that their presence is recognized.

I've been doing an election sign census for the local news weblog/community site I run for Watertown, MA. I posted a route map, do the route twice a week, post the results (total signs, signs per candidate). It's fun!

Yeah, I know about repetition for marketing, but still say 3 signs in 6 feet is wasteful. My thought is "if this person is so freewheeling with their signs, what will they do with my tax dollars?" It's like seeing the same commercial play twice in a row. It doesn't make me want to go out and buy that product, it only annoys me.

Jackie, I couldn't agree with you more.

I have chosen to make my own signs using Avery sign kits:
http://www.avery.com/us/products/signs/products_outdoorposters.html

The website has them costing $27.48 plus tax for two signs, but I got a kit of three posters for about $20 including tax from Sams Club (I know, I know, I'm switching to Costco as soon as my membership expires!).

I bought an electric stapler/nail gun for the unbelievable price of about $11 to put nail my posters (brad nails $3.67 for 500) to woodstakes, which I purchased for $9.48 per 25 count. I bought a hammer for $5.93. I got these items at Lowe's.

All told, for 25 signs I'm paying about $200, so it comes out to about $8 per sign.

That's a lot per sign, but here's where it's nice: I can design each sign differently. One of my sign says "Vote David Marshall (Morgan'e Dad) Alderman" which I put right in front of my daughter's school.

Another one has a picture of me smiling, which I am putting in a pedestrian path (I might not get many votes from that one now I think about it!).

Some are black and yellow, like that Louden fellow recommends.

Customizing these signs is the one of the few fun things I've done creatively in this campaign. Reminds me of elementary school art class. :)

With only 25 signs, I have to be very careful about where I'm going to place them. You won't see me bunching them up!

Will Raymond and Jason Baker get the outreach award--they have signs in Carrboro! Unfortunately, they are the only ones other than school board candidates who appear to be interested in the Smith Level Road vote. David--will we see one of your 25?

I wll put signs for any Chapel Hill or Carrboro candidate in my yard in Raleigh. it is a dead end street however.

Terri, since I live off of Smith Level Road I would guess that should be a priority. Any ideas on sign placement. I'm thinking at the bottom of Merritt Mill Road, on the left side as you prepare to get on Smith Level Road. What do you think?

BTW, I have two pictures up on Flickr, tag "op2005". Yup, I splurged on a model for my sign--this is a highfalutin' campaign I'm running! Cost me a trip to Maple View for ice cream (totally a win-win situation all around).

Ruby,

There are so many variables involved here, one could write a whole book chapter on just this subject.

For example, in 2003, I was the first Carrboro candidate of any sort to have signs up. That included several downtown. In part as a result, a couple of weeks later I was the first candidate to have zero signs downtown. I was fortunate to have enough signs for a second wave there. I observed more vandalism downtown to my signs than to others', by which I mean the sign fragments that remained (since I wasn't taking inventory of others', just mine). But I was also the only one with a picture on the signs, which might have made it more interesting for a random vandal to smack or rip.

I put my signs where I thought Carrboro voters would see them. The only disproprotionate sign placement was in response when Nelson put a disproportionate number in my own neighborhood. (By disproportionate, I mean out of proportion to voters likely to notice.)

Before I campaigned, I didn't know where Carrboro started and ended on the northern side, or down Smith Level, or along Merritt Mill or in Northside. (Heck, some of the people who live in those places don't know, either!) My sign placement had nothing to do with my zone of familiarity. It was a result of serious campaigning and map-reading. I wouldn't read too much into this sign business about where candidates' hearts lie.

Most candidates have limited resources. If they don't plaster a specific neighborhood with signs, or replace the one that got taken down before most people noticed it, that doesn't tell us a lot about the candidate.

Heading up Merritt Mill Road off of Greensboro St. is tricky as far as the Carrboro/Chapel Hill town line goes. The house on the corner has a Roberts St. address, even though it's actually on Merritt Mill Rd. This lot is partially in Carrboro and partially in Chapel Hill. The same is true of my next door neighbor at the end of Roberts St. We all (with Roberts St. addresses) vote at Carrboro Town Hall.

 

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