I live on a busy street. I’m not surprised to find dog crap, newspapers, nip bottles or Dunkin Donuts refuse in my yard from time to time. But tonight it got much worse.
And I’m pissed! I come home from an errand and there is a Healey/Hillman sign in my front yard. Now I wanted to shred it and leave, but that would be litter, so I properly disposed of it. (You’d think the Patrick sign would be a hint, but no ….)
I call Healey headquarters to complain. Answered by a machine. Press Three to Volunteer. Voice Mail. OUCH. Is nobody home?
Please share widely!
the Healey/Hillman signs are like a virus in in my neck of the woods. Usually deposited on a vacant strip of land — they are like magnets attracting the other fringe candidate signs.
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In Townsend some of the RTC folks have such huge signs ON.THEIR.HOMES – these are seriously billboard sized signs.
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I think they’re over-compensating for something. đŸ˜›
It’s in front of this huge yard, with the house set way, way back. Eventually, someone across the street with an ordinary front yard put a huge Patrick sign; I was glad to see the score evened. đŸ˜‰
If you have a bona fide complaint, that is where to call. Like when Deval had the Sagamore, Bourne and Orleans rotatires covered with his signs. I saw to it he was finded $25/sign, according to sign code bylaw.
Yeah, let’s get a bunch of people finded. Pure genius on so many levels.
If only BMG proved up to the task of providing this option?
During one busy election cycle out this way, some local mischief makers took pleasure in switching lawn signs during the night, so Dems woke up to a sign from the Repug candidate on their lawn, and vice versa.
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It might also have been a last-minute volunteer (there are a few in every campaign) who didn’t know the territory but was assigned to deliver lawn signs and thought they were doing the right thing.
But I think it behooves every involved individual, regardless of affiliation, to familiarize him or herself with their town’s sign bylaw (or lack thereof). Signs are NEVER allowed on town or state property. Some towns have dates when signs can go up (three weeks prior to election, for example) and some limit size of signs. Most importantly, there is a mechanism to report offending signs and to have the perpetrators finded (I like that PP!). Frequently the town building inspector is the one responsible for taking down signs and for finding (how is that verb conjugated?) offenders. And importantly, it is illegal for private citizens or town committees or opposing candidates or their operatives to remove signs, offending, offensive, or otherwise.
Does that mean I have to put the offending Healey sign back in my front yard now? Should I call my lawyer?
Tell them where the sign is, and that you want it disposed of.
I made a couple of calls to Town Hall, since I was curious. Maybe they don’t like me very much even though I am very friendly. Or maybe they’ve just gotten a whole bunch of calls about signs. One thing is clear: It’s a big yawner down at Town Hall.
No anti-litter laws in your town? No fines to be assessed? (Hey: free money for the town. You’d think, with budgets so tight, they’d be grateful for a new source of income.)
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Worse, the Healey campaign has left you with a recycling conundrum; if you’re in a town that doesn’t do garbage collection, it’s even more annoying. Why should you have to dispose of their junk?
It sounds like he is talking about signs on public property. If someone puts something in your yard, you can do just about anything you want with it.
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Towns and cities have public property, which no single person has the right to decide how it will be used. If there is a sign on public property, you personally do not have the right to remove it.
on public property in my area including the fences of T stations, and in public parking lots. I have not torn them down yet, but have been tempted to several times.
fence that they are on is withing the 100 yard buffer zone of a polling place. /grrrr
Check your buffer zones: The Sec of State only asks for 150 feet. The cops should definintely remove anything closer.
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As for recycling, sadly the plastic on the Healey sign removed by me from my private property cannot be recycled. In addition, it was so slimy, no trash person will really want it. I’ll have to double wrap it.
But there are a few right across the train tracks from the polling station (the old train station building… which is not a “community policing” station and polling place).
typo. “now a community…”
We complained about the opponents signs in our local rep. race. He was screwing them to random trees, telephone poles and sticking them on traffic islands. The signs had no ownership what so ever. To be fair and non partisan the town collected ALL the signs in violation of zoning. This included signs in peoples yards but deemed too close to the road. I had to pick up all our signs at the town hall and put them back withing the zoning guildlines. In regards to the main post Healey signs are predominately in those vacant abandoned areas no one owns. Local repubs are just driving around and sticking them in the ground where there is a spot. They also seem to be trying to make up for the lack of local organization and support by putting in larger signs on main routes.
Dona – there isn’t a square inch of Massachusetts that SOMEBODY doesn’t own.
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Down my way, a former GOP state rep. owns a great deal of undeveloped property, and he gives GOP candidates permission to put signs on his vacant lots.
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THAT is why you should call town hall, instead of assuuming that it’s public land or ‘nobody’ owns it.
No yard here, so no problem. If I find one up in my 2nd floor window in the morning, I’m callin’ the cops…
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Interesting tangent though. I called Healey/Hillman HQ about 5 weeks ago to lodge a complaint about a bunch of their signs continually appearing in a public rotary. No answer, leave a message. This was midday on a Saturday. I got curious, and so since then I have called on different days at various times of the day and chosen pretty much every option. I have NEVER gotten a human on the phone. Now, I certainly don’t think that they have zero volunteers, but it’s an interesting strategy to never answer your phones…