Owen Sound city hall. (photo by Claire McCormack)
Owen Sound’s corporate services committee decided against a staff recommendation to prohibit election signs on public property as part of a new draft by-law.
The corporate services committee discussed a report from the city’s manager of legislative services at its meeting on Sept. 23. The report explains staff intend to create a stand-alone election sign by-law to make regulations easier for candidates to follow, and included a recommendation to prohibit election signs on public property.
Reduced city staff time on enforcement, reducing visual clutter on public property, limiting the environmental impact of signage and possibly encouraging more new candidates to run for office were cited as reasons in the report to consider the ban on election signs on public property.
But several committee members, who are elected officials, challenged the notion in the report an election sign ban on public property may help encourage more new candidates to join political races, and expressed a different view that barring the signs would actually provide an advantage to incumbents by limiting the exposure new candidates could create for themselves.
“I’m not buying that it will be easier for someone new to run, because I think the incumbents have an advantage in that we’ve got name recognition whereas somebody new could get a sign out there,” says Owen Sound mayor and corporate services committee member Ian Boddy.
Corporate services committee member Coun. Brock Hamley agreed: “People generally know who (incumbents) are, but a new candidate, they might not know who they are.”
Chair of the corporate services committee Coun. Travis Dodd says he thinks sign do have an impact, especially for candidates who are just starting out and trying to get their names out there.
“I don’t like limiting that because I think it could ultimately affect whether that person gets a vote or not,” Dodd says. “And for openness and transparency and giving everyone an equal playing field, I think taking that away one year away from an election favours the people who are sitting in the seats currently.”
The city’s current by-law identifies federal and provincial election signs can be erected upon the calling of an election, and municipal election signs can go up 30 days before voting day.
All election signs must be removed within 72 hours following voting day.
Corporate services committee member Coun. John Tamming says in a way the signs “explode” for about 40 or 45 days, but it’s an “explosion of democracy.”
“And it’s kind of fun. You just see it everywhere. It’s democracy,” Tamming explains. “If you add up all the elections, does it cover maybe 120 days every three years?”
The corporate services committee ended up unanimously passing a motion to recommend city council request staff draft a by-law that maintains the current regulations.