Maintaining election signs feels like an art form.

During the 2005 election season, I plotted various energy saving routes to “care and feed” for my signs as I drove around town on regular errands. Two birds with one stone, so to speak.

I didn’t just fix my own signs. Heck, at one point I’d repaired or reset more of Ed Harrison’s signs than mine and every other candidates combined! Why? While to some the signs are just so much roadside rubbish, to me they represent not only a major campaign investment ($2-$8 per sign) but a valuable, if limited, form of communication.

Folks gained name recognition from my catchy slogan, read various intended and unintended meanings into my “daisy” design and followed my website URL ( now campaign.willraymond.org ) to find out more about my positions (and to get a real-time report on my finances).

Election 2005

Every candidate, as long as they follow the generally reasonable rules of signage, deserves the courtesy of publishing that limited message without interference. Sure, the “message” is sometimes lost due to poor implementation – like Ed’s short-staked slanted signs that easily tilted and wilted and fell under the merest of pressure – but, unfortunately, the weather doesn’t account for all sign damage.

While focusing on sites with Judge Baddour’s and Anderson’s signs, I’ve continued to repair all candidates’ signs – whether I support them – like Ellie Kinnaird – or don’t – like Steve Acuff. Baddour’s signs, some up for the whole duration, have weathered well. To date, my worst problem has been keeping ones up both on the corner of Estes/MLK and at the end of Mt. Bolus Rd. Those signs, unlike others I find in the woods or ditches, vanish. Anderson’s have done fairly well, though the cardboard they’re made of seems to get awful droopy in the wet.

Baddour 2006

Today, as I drove through rural Chatham and Orange into Carrboro, I stopped to fix more than a few signs.

Troubling, deliberate damage was the order of the day. I found 5 of Acuff’s signs pitched either into the woods or the nearest ditch. Three of Kinnaird’s signs (she doesn’t have many to start with) were down. Broken staked, I’ve repaired her sign at Old Fayetteville and Hillsborough three times in less than two days.

Long windup here to a simple request. We have two more days to go. If you see a sign down would you please consider restoring it?

I understand it’s difficult, maybe impossible, to repair a sign for someone you might consider vile (I know I couldn’t bring myself to fix a Bush/Cheney), so if you can’t repair, could you at least put the sign within easy reach of a cleanup crew?

Cleanup 2005

I pledged in 2005 not to let my signs linger. By 7:21 am the morning after the election all my signs were safely down.

I also extended an offer to retrieve other candidates signs as I made the rounds. Several candidates welcomed the offer.

I’ve already volunteered to reprise that role this year for a few folks. If you represent a campaign operating around northern Chatham and Orange counties and would like some assistance removing your signs please contact me at signs AT citizenwill.org. Please provide a contact phone number so I can both verify your “bona fides” and find out the planned disposition of the signs.