Spring is political yard sign season

LEESBURG — Springtime in Southwest Georgia is the season of flowers in bloom, of pollen covering everything not moving and of the realization that the stifling summer heat is on its way.

And, with political qualifying now in the rear view mirror, spring is also the official season of political yard signs.

Like the various species of flowers that provide color in area yards, political signs of every hue have begun to spring up in anticipation of the May 24 Democratic and Republican primaries and the Nov. 8 general election.

The political yard sign season offers printing companies opportunities for financial bonanza, but it is also a busy season for Code Enforcement officers in the region. Candidates and their supporters, eager to place their identifiers where they will get the most eyeballs, tend to see any patch of grass as fair game.

Not so, say officials who must regulate sign placement.

“We don’t want to interfere with the political process in any way,” Lee County Marshal/Chief Code Enforcement Officer Jim Wright said. “But it’s important that candidates and their supporters remember that safety is always the priority. Signs placed in rights of way have the potential to hinder drivers, so we’re asking everyone to please take that into consideration while placing their signs.”

Albany/Dougherty Planning Services Director Paul Forgey, who has oversight of the city/county Code office, points out that political signs are not specifically targeted by his officers.

“We consider political signs content neutral,” Forgey said. “It’s not the message that concerns us, it’s the location. If we see any sign in a right of way that hinders traffic safety, whether it’s a real estate, business or political sign, we remove it.”

Forgey said he understands the significance of political signs during the campaign season.

“This issue comes up every election, and while it’s early yet and we haven’t had any real problems, I’m sure we will,” he said. “In a local campaign where many candidates may not have widespread name recognition, yard signs are an effective way of getting their name out there. When voters cast their ballots, they may remember the name of the candidate that was on an attractive yard sign.”

The story is different in Lee County.

“Yeah, we’ve already had to take some signs out of rights of way,” Wright said. “It’s not something we like to do, but we feel it’s a safety issue. If a candidate or his supporters notice that a sign or signs are missing, we encourage them to come by our offices (at the Lee governmental building) and pick them up.”

Forgey said that signs taken from rights of way in Albany and Dougherty County will be disposed of.

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