LAWN SIGNS AND WEBSITES:CAMPAIGN REFORM

LAWN SIGNS. Lawn signs most often appear everywhere else, except on lawns. I used to view lawn signs as being for dummies. However, I have come to appreciate their value. This is especially true if the signs are properly designed and placed.

Most voters find out who is running for what by reading lawn signs. The signs name the candidate, the office a candidate is seeking; and sometimes, tell what party line the candidate is on, and in what political juridiction the candidate is running. A few lawn signs direct the viewer to the candidates website, if that candidate has one. The color schemes and lettering of signs are key featrures that govern the visibility and effectiveness of the signs.

Lawn sign placement is an art.  Where and how signs are placed often determine their longevity. Crooked signs suggest crooked candidates. Vandals often destroy signs under cover of darkness. Usually, the destruction is selective, indicating the political affiliation of the vandals.

Voters can determine that a particular candidate is gaining strength when that candidate's lawn signs begin to disappear.

In Albany there are fewer lawns signs than in the past, particularly on lawns. This tells us something about the mood of the electorate.

In sum, lawns signs have their place and value in the political process. Those who destroy lawns signs, under cover of darkness, are cowards who violate the First Amendment rights of candidates and voters, alike. Let the signs be!

Candidates have an obligation to gather up and remove their signs from the landscape within a few days after an election.

Lawn signs get the attention of the voters. However, it is the obligation of the voters to find out as much as they can, or want to know, about candidates; and to cast informed votes in primaries and general elections.

Candidates who do not have much money, and organizational power, can get their messages(if they have one) out through WEBSITES. When the media publishes voter guides, which contain brief  candidate profiles, and indicate the websites of the candidates - and puts that information on line, just as the TIMES UNION has done this year - a giant stride to campaign reform has been achieved.  CONGRATULATIONS TIMES UNION and to CANDIDATES WHOSE WEBSITES HAVE MESSAGES OF SUBSTANCE.

                                                                                  Joe Sullivan