Archived Story

Campaign signs are litter; pick it up

Published 12:02am Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Traditionally, we’ve used this space after an election to offer a friendly reminder to all local political candidates and their teams to kindly clean up their campaign signs around town.forever

However, we usually offer that request up on the day or two after the election — not more than a month later.

The Natchez mayor made his own request this week, asking all those who ran for office to be sure their signs are picked up and stored.

It’s not too much to ask, really.

Campaign signs, no matter how colorful or well-designed they are, are litter on a stick once the election is over. Except, if you are the candidate, this litter has your name on it.

If you cared enough for our community to seek public office, please care enough about it to pick up your mess.

Summer heat will abate soon enough and fall tourist season will pick up. We want our city to be sparkling for our guests, and now is the time to remove the litter.

Voters, if you see a campaign sign in the neighborhood, don’t hesitate to notify the candidate and ask them to de-clutter your community.

Our city is too special to be littered with signs of an election gone-by.

 

 

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  • Anonymous

    I’m still trying to figure out why citizens living near the remaining small signs don’t remove them (aka the Brown sign that was on E. Franklin St. recently).  The larger signs may require a little more effort by those who planted them (aka Middleton sign shown in the article or the larger signs at Redd Loop Rd. of Johnson and West).  The first statement is one reason that litter abounds around here – the attitude that “If I didn’t drop it or toss it out, then I don’t have to pick it up…” aided and abetted by the attitude that “If I throw it out, someone else will pick it up”.  Maybe some of the politicians are the ones throwing litter out the window?

  • http://www.natchezdemocrat.com khakirat

    Why can’t these people be fined like Jackson??!!

  • vilou09

    Maybe you don’t understand.. Election season or not, if the owner of the sign (candidate) isn’t the one who removes it, then that’s THEFT. they reuse the signs for each election, and theyre quite expensive to have made.
    Point being, if their name is on the sign, THEY have to be the ones to remove it.

    With that said, WHY would they not come get the things?! Come on, people..

  • Anonymous

    Most of the candidates are one timers with no plans to run for office again, thus no motivation for removal and saving for next election.  Now, if it is placed on public right of way and removed by anyone AFTER the election is over, including city cleanup crews, why would that be considered theft – of abandoned property.  Same would apply to litter, if not removed by the one who threw it there, would you consider that theft?????

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