It?s time to clean up election mess

OK, the elections are over. It?s time to clean the place up and leave it like you found it.

It amazes me how election-year traces linger long after the dust has settled on an election. It would seem to me that cleaning up would be as easy as pulling a sign out of someone?s own yard. However, this is not the case as we routinely see advertisements for past elections months and even years later.

I guess my No. 1 gripe is not necessarily the signs which dot the landscape long after the election, but instead are bumper stickers which adorn cars long after the election is over. First off, I?ve never been in love with a candidate enough to risk taking the paint off my bumper by putting their bumper sticker on my car.

Of course, it could be this eventuality which forces motorists to leave their Kerry/Edwards sticker on their vehicle until it?s traded in as they find they either cannot get it off, or if they can, that it will leave a major mark on their bumper. After all, there?s only two reasons you would leave the bumper sticker of a loser on your car. One, you?re too lazy to get it off or two, you can?t get it off.

On the other hand, I believe some people intentionally leave winning bumper stickers on their cars to show other motorists they were on the winning side. For years after the election, I?ve seen Bush/Cheney stickers, and before that it was Clinton/Gore stickers. Are people so starved for attention that they will leave a sticker on just so everyone knows they were on the winning side?

Well, all you need to do to see an example of this is go by all these houses who have the signs of winning candidates still in their yards. The election is at least six days old by the time you are reading this. There?s no chance of anyone influencing the vote in any of the local races any more seeing the races are over. Therefore, why are there still signs in yards?

Once again, there?s only two reasons. First, the person is too lazy to retrieve the sign from their yard, or two, and most likely, they want the public to know they sided with the winner, or worse, they want special attention from the winner so they are leaving their sign up in hopes the candidate will appreciate their loyalty.

Folks, we all gripe about how cluttered our town gets during election season. I haven?t been able to go one day without hearing someone complain about how irritating all these signs are, blocking up the scenery everywhere. Yet, here we are nearly a week later and many are still standing.

Personally, I?ve always felt election signs should be allowed only on the property of businesses and private residences and not beside roads and in ditches. By limiting where signs can be, we also limit the blight they cause and we also help ensure they will be collected in a more timely manner since it makes the business owner and homeowner personally responsible for their disposal after election. As it is now, if some supporters just went around sticking signs in the ground, they may hang there forever seeing the candidate himself may not even know where they are.

Myself, I say a week after election, all signs should become fair game. If they can?t take them down, then we should take them down for them.

Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].