Give Municipal Candidates their Space!
As you know, we are only 28 or so days away from Municipal elections here in Connecticut. For those who haven't marked their calendars - for Republicans Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, 2011. (Nancy DiNardo has asked me to remind everyone that this year Democrats are holding their Election Day on Wednesday, November 9, 2011; Union slobs: please mark your calendars).
But seriously, if you are looking to really help make a difference - please contact your local Republican Town Committee or local Republican Registrar and ask how you can get involved. These Municipal Campaigns are low budget, and we need volunteers to put up signs, distribute literature, walk with candidates, and make phone calls to energize voter turnout. Volunteerism is the key to winning locally! So please reach out and donate a few hours of your time to a worthy cause - and remember this cause is your own!
Now onto the business at hand....
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| REPORTED: Here is one selfish SOB who thinks he's more important than those Republicans running locally |
As one TKV reader pointed out, "Not everyone is in tune with who the candidates are for which election, so [these signs] are adding confusion as well as clutter."
The King offers a few simple solutions for readers fed-up with seeing Congressional and Senatorial Campaign signs up so early:
1. Know the law. Contact your town officials and ask what the town ordinance says about how many days before an election a candidate may post signs. There may also be state laws about the timing of sign placement before elections. (If the sign is in violation and is a Republican sign, go to Step #2, if the sign if a Democrat sign, go immediately to Step #3 and Step #4). Also, The King is well aware that Federal Law trumps local and state law with regard to Freedom of Speech issues, but some ordinances are still in place and may be worth reviewing.
2. Contact the campaigns in violation. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, assume that some Congressional and Senatorial Candidates may not know the local ordinances or might need to a little reminder (Remember, most candidates and campaign do know the rules because the majority of people running these campaigns have been doing it for years. Now, if they blow you off or give you any lip - hang up and move to step #3).
3. Report violators. If you determine that a Congressional or Senatorial Candidate is breaking the law, report them to town or city officials. If the violations are continuous, contact the State Elections Enforcement Commission, and your local newspaper. I'm sure both would love to hear from you.
4. Take a Photo and send them to The King. We'd be happy to post photos and report locations of violators. We are particularly interested in those signs are illegally placed now and disrupting the flow of Municipal elections. Include location (street number and town/city), and cite your confirmation that the sign is illegal.
5. Illegal Publicly placed signs: If the signs are on public property illegally. I believe you can contact police and ask if you can remove them, or simply ask the police to remove them.
6 Punish selfish candidates during the Primary by casting a vote against them. If a candidate can't show respect for local candidates and local government then why send him or her to Capitol Hill? They obviously could care less about anyone but themselves! And don't forget to spread the word. The power of word of mouth is far more influential than anything else - use it!
Warning: If someone is in violation of any state or local campaign law on private property, DO NOT take it upon yourself to remove the sign. It is illegal to do so! If you get caught, you could face arrest, a nasty fine ,and may end up with your name listed in the paper.
So let's hope that all Congressional and Senatorial Candidates heed my advice, show some class, and remove their signs NOW! Even if it's not illegal to place campaign signs over a year in advance of the election, it's still a blight and an annoyance to everyone. Refusal to do so begs the question of whether or not such a candidate is fit to serve at all.
I AM
THE KING
This original blog entry can be found at http://www.thekingsview.blogspot.com
6 comments:
Dear King I usually like to read what you have to say but this article is off base. First off Chris Cotu has been planning placing 75 billboard signs out in the district for 5 months, long before there were even muni candidates.
Chris's campaign workers are also volunteering a lot of time on many municipal elections throughout the district when not working on his campaign.I could go on about what his campaign has in store for Joe Courtney but as you most likely were crowned by birthright and never have been elected or run for office I wont waste my time explaining what it takes to run a 24/7 Congressional race in a mammoth district like the 2nd.
As for Chris being selfish, what planet are you living on? Look at his public and military service records for crying out loud.
Chris has run a fantastic campaign without negativity except for your article today. Please do everyone a favor and find some Democrats to write about in the future if you feel inclined to help conservatives.
Thank You
Coutu should take down his signs before someone rips them down on accident. He is such a loser.
Anonymous,
Chris is entitled to place those signs wherever he has permission to do so.
Otherwise, (and I even say this as his opponent), I'd suggest that calling anyone a "loser" is off base and insulting absent and underlying argument. Such argumemts do favors to no one.
Coutu is stomping all over the local elections, no questions asked! Why would someone who needs people's votes make a conscious decision to confuse the electorate? It shows a total lack of respect for the voter. It is up to each of these towns NOT to put up with Coutu's bullying tactic and tell him to come back next year!
Considering the Congressional election is not until November 2012, I am surprised Chris Coutu feels compelled to put up his signs NOW when everyone is (or should be) focused on and working hard to win local elections in November 2011. If Coutu thinks it is helping his cause, I say, think again.
People like Coutu give Republicans a bad name. While Daria Novak, a class act, is out working for local candidates and respecting the municipal election process, we have a young and inexperienced upstart like Coutu hurting our local Republican candidates in one of the most selfish and childish moves I have seen. He needs to rethink running for high office.
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