Ugly signs

Drive into Riverdale and try to find some place. There's tons of signs all over, so many you can't see anything but a huge mess. Then political season comes and like spring weeds, more signs pop up everywhere. Sign wars.

For the first time in Fayette County we got a taste of our future. Peachtree City changed their rules to allow gigantic signs and unlimited signs. Sam Chapman and Eric Maxwell took full advantage of the change plus some. In Fayette County they changed the rules to allow for up to three signs, normal sizes, all the time. Tyrone so far has stuck to their guns but they looked the other way for Chapman and Maxwell until Dunn put his signs up, then they started grabbing them. Fayetteville pulled them up and made them stick to the rules. Or tried anyway. They couldn't pull up the signs fast enough before another one grew in its place.

While Chapman was in the race Dunn and Wells signs disappeared almost as fast as they put them up. I got where I'd drive through town one day and look at all the signs, go back the next day or the day after and all I'd see where Chapman and Maxwell, all the others pulled down.

Jack Smith got into it later. He kept putting his large signs in front of everyone elses, mimicing Chapman's technique.

They all lost some signs.

Sign wars. It makes a lot of people mad. But in their defense, how else do they get their name out? There's another blog topic - getting names out during elections!

I'm one who thinks we ought to limit signs. I think asthetics are important and community quality. I think it drops home values and sets a bad tone in the neighborhoods to have junky signs all over.

Freedom of speech says yes we must be able to have signs but we have lots of other ways to enjoy freedom of speech. I think the county had the right idea when they said three signs all year round. Why should politicians have more freedom of speech during elections than realtors or other store owners or even regular people like me?