Town looks to end election time ‘sign war’

Banning election signs would put all candidates on level playing field, discussion hears

Will a ban on election signs be a sign of the times in the Town of Yarmouth?

It looks that way.

A discussion took place at council’s Jan. 9 meeting on the issue of banning campaign lawn signs during this year’s upcoming municipal election in October, but also extending that ban to provincial and federal elections as well.

A resolution to ban election signs was brought to the table by Deputy Mayor Phil Mooney, who noted that, particularly in municipal elections, lawn signs are produced at great personal expense to candidates.

After elections many signs get stored in barns and garages for the next kick at the election can by some candidates. Othertimes signs are never used again and end up in the waste stream.

During the discussion, Mooney and some others around the council table noted some candidates may not have the financial means to have a lot of signs made and that may deter some people from getting involved in elections because they worry reduced visibility will put them at a disadvantage.

Said Mooney said banning election signs, it would put “an end to the election ‘sign war’ and would help level the playing field for all candidates regardless of financial means, and help voters and candidates focus on real issues, not who has the most signs.”

Also importantly, he said, banning election signs would be better for the environment since at some point election signs are discarded.

He noted there are other municipal units in Canada where election signs have been banned or bans are being considered.

And although election signs are an important source of revenue for local sign-making businesses, Mooney said many signs during elections aren’t necessarily made within the local area.

The issue led to some interesting discussion and debate.

Coun. Jim MacLeod said he’s offered for election four times and doesn’t use signs. Still, he wasn’t sure how to react to the motion.

“Everybody has their own way of becoming known,” he said.

Mooney noted in a 2019 byelection in the town, Coun. Steve Berry ran a successful campaign, largely on social media.

“He probably ran the most effective, digital, people-focused campaign that I’ve seen in Yarmouth in the last 20 years,” Mooney said. “He did most of that on social media, plus friends, plus neighbours, he got those people involved in a different way.”

Berry did note that he also had about 35 election signs made, but they were made of a recycled, biodegradable material that had a very short shelf life.

Coun. Don Berry, meanwhile, said he was on the fence about a sign ban. He said he’s not on Facebook and not tech savvy when it comes to different methods of social media. And he said he’s not alone in that. He also said not everyone has computers or access to the internet – whether it’s the public or candidates.

“In my opinion I believe there has to be some other method,” he said about getting known during an election, saying for him, election signs are the option that works best. “From my perspective, to eliminate it means that the person who is now the internet/Facebook type of person (now has) an advantage. So you’ve taken away equal opportunity. . . There’s two ways to look at this.”

A question arose about the implications of a ban for town staff when it comes to enforcement. Town CAO Jeff Gushue didn’t see any issues, as candidates would be notified from the get-go that a ban is in place. He also said it would require the drafting of a bylaw.

Mayor Pam Mood, meanwhile, summed things up this way:

“I would hate to think that you win an election simply because you had the most signs out,” she said. “That’s really sad and it goes right back to we really want everybody to have an equal opportunity to be able to put their name in the hat and not have to worry about funds.

“There are, I believe, many ways, besides social media (to reach the voter),” said Mood, who favours a sign ban. “We’re still knocking on doors and we’re still talking to people. There’s many, many ways to meet people face to face and have an opportunity to talk to people without littering a town with thousands of signs that either get stuffed somewhere or thrown in the garbage.”

At the end of the discussion the motion to ban election signs did pass, although not unanimously. Coun. Don Berry voiced a loud nay when the vote was taken.