Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 28, 1994 TAG: 9409280055
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As the climax of a hotly contested Senate race draws closer, volunteers have unleashed a hoard of illegally placed campaign posters in the city, blighting heavily traveled roads and major intersections with blazes of red for Charles Robb and blue for Oliver North.
Some of the Democratic incumbent's and GOP challenger's signs are illegal and have led to a blizzard of complaining phone calls to city offices.
Residents view them as eyesores on public property or are outraged about posters staked on their land without permission.
The calls prompted requests by the city that both campaigns train their workers on sign regulations, and warnings of stiff fines if they don't.
Somewhat predictably, each campaign says the other is more to blame.
North "obviously has a disdain for the law," local Robb campaign manager Henry Hale said, referring to the ex-colonel's admitted deceptions of Congress and sales of arms to Iran to provide financial backing for Nicaraguan insurgents in the mid-1980s. "It doesn't surprise me about any other laws he subverts either."
"Coming from a campaign whose candidate [Robb] has been involved in illegal wiretapping ... and who has reportedly attended parties where cocaine was used, the criticism doesn't surprise me. They're desperate," responded Roger Jarrell, the North campaign's regional field director.
Evelyn Dorsey, the city's zoning administrator, said City Hall logged more than 200 complaining phone calls last week. Nearly all the calls were anonymous, and they were divided equally among complaints about Robb and North signs, she said.
"I think these [callers] are citizens who don't like their areas being trashed or signs going up on public right of ways in front of their homes," she said.
Similar problems usually arise in the final two weeks of local campaigns, she said. "But this has gotten out of control," Dorsey said.
When it comes to any kind of temporary sign, the city code is pretty clear: They are allowed only on private property, with the written permission of the owner.
Signs are banned from telephone poles, traffic signs, light posts and anywhere in a public right of way such as a highway median strip.
The law covers not only campaign posters, but everything: ads for thigh-reducing cream, directions to yard sales and notices of upcoming entertainment.
Violations are punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, but the law rarely is enforced. The only time in recent memory it was used, a nightclub was forced to pay $200 because bands playing there blanketed telephone poles with advance notices.
"If I don't seen any cooperation by the end of next week with the campaign headquarters, I'll go see the magistrate about future action," Dorsey said. "I really don't want to take anyone to court; I want the signs down."
Hale and Jarrell each admitted that some well-intentioned campaign workers may have posted some signs illegally. They said they've advised workers to avoid telephone poles and public property.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB