It’s that time of year again. Baseball playoffs? No, the Mets are doing well in the postseason. Steve Cohen must be happy! So what should we do? Political garden signs.
Why does it seem to be rising faster each year? Our understanding is that the town’s Democratic and Republican leaders have a policy of placing lawn signs on public land up to two weeks before the election. There is an agreement not to do so. How much we hope they will honor that agreement.
Who among us hasn’t driven around Lake Avenue during an election season and almost ran off the road reading a lawn sign? No newspaper champions free speech like the newspapers, but when do our newspapers in particular become visual pollution?
Let’s dig deeper into that concept. Sure, campaigns need to put up yard signs on private and public property, but let’s be reasonable. We never advocate telling property owners what they can and cannot do with their land, provided it complies with proper zoning. But using public land as campaign billboards long before an election is a step too far.
As I drive around Lake Avenue, I like to check out the signs for the various fall events happening around town. There’s a lot going on, especially in the next few weeks.
I thought this year would be different. we were wrong. Overnight, political yard signs appeared on many high-traffic town-owned properties. But the worst we saw was at the intersection of North Maple and Post Road, where crocuses were blooming, signaling the arrival of spring. A memorial to veterans is also located here. For us and many others, this is the wrong place to put up a yard sign. The first selectman, Fred Camillo, asked for them to be removed. We agree, but they remain firmly entrenched as memorials to veterans.
Which brings me to my next point. Now that political season has begun, we implore all candidates to run on merit. Acts of defeating opponents through negative campaigns or personal attacks are not recorded.
While this concept may seem to benefit incumbents, this is not actually the case. Everyone has a record. It could be volunteering, work, public service, or being a parent. Talk about why you are running and why you are qualified for the position. Simply running a negative campaign will never work in Greenwich. Voters have never accepted that. After all, even after the election, we still live in this town and meet at the grocery store and post office. Although the intensity of the campaign will lessen, the way we greet our neighbors will still remain.
This is some unsolicited advice for everyone who is running for office. You will be more successful on the high road than on the low road. It was Mark Twain who said, “Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
Yes, we want political discussion. I want to know the differences between the candidates. We want to make educated decisions about who represents us. We just want to do it without being yelled at or misunderstood. After all, we (living here in Greenwich) are a fairly informed citizenry. We tend to see through exaggeration. We will not respond to negative campaigns. So we ask all of you who are running for office to treat us with the same respect that you demand of us.
This election season, we are looking for rational, educated candidates who will respond to the needs of our communities and state with thoughtful leadership and ideas. And we want political signs on veterans’ monuments to be removed. thank you.
