Hollister
– With local campaigns in full swing for the Nov. 2 election,
local laws are limited in how they restrict the number and
placement of candidates’ signs.
Hollister – With local campaigns in full swing for the Nov. 2 election, local laws are limited in how they restrict the number and placement of candidates’ signs.
Hollister doesn’t have a law on the books to address campaign signs, such as the horde of them at the corner of McCray and Sunnyslope roads.
The Hollister municipal code does restrict placement of all types of signs, according to Deputy City Clerk Geri Johnson. And there are some state regulations candidates must follow, such as a size limit of 32 square feet, according to Department of Transportation guidelines.
Many local government boards have seats up for grabs Nov. 2, including three on the Hollister City Council, one on the county Board of Supervisors, several school boards and some state and federal offices, among other seats.
Regardless, neither the county elections office nor the Hollister city clerk’s office receive many complaints about political signs.
“I have never had a complaint about a political sign,” Johnson said.
Hollister resident Debi Mahler said she doesn’t mind the influx of signs during campaign seasons, as long as the candidates take them down soon after the elections.
“If they take them down in a timely fashion, I don’t mind,” she said.
Candidates can have signs placed throughout town during a period of 90 days before the election, according to elections supervisor Kim Hawk. After Nov. 2, they’ll have 10 days to take them down.
Among the city’s zoning regulations candidates must follow, signs can’t be placed on public property, in a public right of way or in areas between curbs and gutters, according to Johnson.
Head elections official John Hodges thinks candidates overdo the number of signs they place around town. They’re better off, he said, meeting people face to face.
“They seem to think the more signs I got up, the better off I am,” Hodges said. “And it doesn’t work that way.”
Kollin Kosmicki covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach him at 637-5566, ext. 331 or kk*******@fr***********.com.
