Signs of the times? An opinion

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm

Reporter - News Analyst

September 30. 2014 12:05 p.m.

Illegal sign placement in city right of way

Fernandina Beach may be a small community, but it is not immune from dirty tricks during political campaign season.  On Saturday night campaign signs supporting both Robin Lentz and Tim Poynter, political challengers to incumbent commissioners Sarah Pelican and Charlie Corbett, were removed from private property along First Avenue.  Supporters later found the signs in a construction dumpster nearby.  A sign supporting Charlie Corbett in the same area was not similarly removed.

Police Chief James Hurley in response to my query on the topic of unlawful sign removal stressed that removal of anything from private property without the owners’ permission is theft.

Section 34-6 of city code clearly states that campaign advertising is prohibited in public rights of way.  This means that the average homeowner needs to understand that even though s/he maintains the city right of way between the sidewalk and the street, that area may not be used to display political signs.  City Manager Joe Gerrity has provided additional guidance in the following email to candidates this morning:

Starting October 1, the City will begin removing campaign signs posted in the right of way of city, county and state roads.  They will be placed either at the Police Station or the dumpster area behind City Hall. 

I would suggest that you tell your supporters that a good rule of thumb is to place signs behind utility poles in order to keep them out of the right of way.  Any concerns about signs removed from private property should be referred to the Police Department.

According to a 2012 report aired by WCTV-TV in Tallahassee, stealing a political sign in Florida is considered petty theft, a misdemeanor. It can land you up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. But if the sign is worth more than $300, that misdemeanor becomes a felony charge that carries a $500 fine and up to five years behind bars.

While stealing or defacing political signs might be a way of letting off steam, it is also a way to court problems with law enforcement.  In today’s world, there are security cameras all around us.  Stealing political signs is a small matter in the running of campaigns because candidates have many ways of getting their message to the voters.

Tolerance for competing political beliefs should be a goal for every community. Our police have better things to do with their time and our tax money than to conduct investigations into political sign thefts.