Trying to enforce in three weeks what you’ve ignored for eight years is the wrong way to do business.

Of course two wrongs don’t make a right, so we suppose three weeks of sign ordinance enforcement are better than none.

The City of Natchez has had a sign ordinance on the books for many years, yet there’s no evidence of that these days. Not only political signs, but business signs, temporary signs and advertisements litter our city and even historic downtown area. The city has turned a blind eye to rule breakers and in turn been unfair to those who seek to follow the law.

That fact becomes no more apparent than during a heated political campaign.

The city should not be debating and deciding how to enforce its own code now, when the incumbent mayor and aldermen are running for re-election.

But years of inattention to detail and lack of rule enforcement are making this race downright ugly.

This is yet another example of how far from the right track our great city has veered. It joins a long list that already includes overgrown medians, trashy sidewalks, boarded up businesses, dilapidated houses, and more.

We are at a crossroads and — regardless who is in office — it’s time to do the right thing.

Either change the law or enforce it. Don’t selectively enforce bits and pieces, and only when convenient.

It doesn’t take millions of dollars and thousands of jobs to do the right thing. It simply takes making a commitment to fairness.