Mind your signs

GONZALES — Candidates on the March 1 Texas primary ballot boast a lot of things that they say qualify them for office. A law degree, public service, grassroots organizing and hours spent in law enforcement training are a few of the illustrious achievements that the many men say are the reasons they should be given your vote.

But not a single one of them boast a lick on knowing about proper campaign sign placement. 

Texas law requires that a campaign sign abide by certain rules. They must be made of lightweight material and cannot be larger than 50 square feet in size. They can sprout no sooner than 90 days prior an election and must be pulled by 10 days after the contest.

The signs themselves must include the word “for” if a candidate is declaring what office they are vying for. And along the bottom, a simple line of text must state: “NOTICE: IT IS A VIOLATION OF STATE LAW (CHAPTERS 392 AND 393, TRANSPORTATION CODE), TO PLACE THIS SIGN IN THE RIGHT OF WAY OF A HIGHWAY.”

Simple enough it seems. But somehow signs seem to creep out into the open where they are not allowed or wanted.

This past Monday at least 10 large political signs were removed from the intersection of St. Joseph Street and Sarah DeWitt Dr. Complaints had been logged that it was difficult to see oncoming traffic for those attempting to access Sarah DeWitt Dr. They were also not on private property.

Another gaggle was removed from in front of the Gonzales County Courthouse Annex further east on Sarah DeWitt Dr. where early voting is taking place. County Clerk Lee Riedel had removed a batch from one side of the driveway that were within the 100-foot barrier where no politicking can take place. By the next morning, they had reappeared across the driveway — away from her radius but well within Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) property. 

A right-of-way is usually a grassy median or the area between where the edge of a state highway ends and private property begins. TxDOT does what they can to keep the signs from encroaching on their beautiful byways in the form of press releases to candidates that spell out the letter of the law. But as TxDOT Public Information Officer Cari Hensley stated, while candidates usually get the drift, sometimes their enthusiastic supporters are guilty of “sign creep.”

“We try to get the word out to the candidates,” said Hensley.

Often she will field calls from people wanting signs removed from where they are not supposed to be. When a maintenance crew goes out to remove the signs, it takes away from their regular duties such as fixing roads, she explained. And that added time does come from taxpayer dollars.

Candidates to not have to be informed of when their sign is in danger of being removed. For the signs that were removed this week, Hensley said that they are sitting at the Gonzales TxDOT office and may be picked up by the candidates during normal business hours. Per law, the signs can be disposed of after 10 days if they are not retrieved.