Last year, longtime Newton political activist Martina Jackson was ticketed for running afoul of city regulations that governed when political signs could be displayed on private property. She appealed the fine to the Zoning Board of Appeals and lost. She then filed a challenge in court which is still in process.
The rules in question spelled out a defined window of time, both before and after an election, that political signs could be displayed on private property. Amidst all of this, the City Council has since stepped in and amended the rules. Now homeowners can put up political signs any time they want and leave them up as long as they want.
This year’s upcoming election in November is the first one where the 45 day limit on lawn signs has been dropped and we are already seeing signs on lawns five months ahead of the election.
Also under the new rules there’s nothing to nudge the procrastinators to take their signs down after an election … which is why we don’t still have these up on your neighbor’s lawn.
So what do you think? Is it time to put up your Biden / Trump / DeSantis / Haley sign on your lawn this weekend in preparation for next years presidential election.
Are you ready to decorate your lawn today for November’s city election?
DeSantis, Haley.
Thanks
The City of Newton was wrong and violated the First Amendment rights of Newton residents for decades until the unconstitutional law was struck down by the court. I’ve yet to hear the Mayor [who was an Alderman] or any of the City Councilors actually apologize for infringing on the rights of Newton’s citizens. That is because they just don’t give a damn!!
I believe there should be criminal penalties for public officials who willingly and knowingly violate people’s constitutional rights. It would certainly make them think twice before passing new laws or keeping old laws on the books that are clearly unconstitutional.
MY RFK JR 2024
SIGN IS ON THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!
anybody
but
biden
@Joe Rizza – Good luck with that.
@ Jerry: The irony is that people had the “Any functioning adult: 2020” signs in 2020 and can use them again regarding Biden!!
I hate Trump as much as everyone, but frankly Biden is not a functioning adult and to think that he could be our president in 6 years is horrifying. He is sad to watch now…but 5-6 years from now? Yikes.
Am I the only onne who hates the signs? It has nothing to do with “rights”- they’re ugly and make the city look trashy.
Couldn’t agree more, Jane. Get rid of them!
Jane, what about signs that advertise landscapers, contractors, real estate, Black Lives Matter signs, just to name a few that often stay in our yards for months or years? Do they make the city look “trashy?” Do pink flamingos in yards look trashy? One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
@ Jess, yes they do. They should not be permanent. And a BLM sign is political. It’s fine, but it is political.
There should be a limit on time a sign can be up.
@Jane Frantz – There are some that have a more aesthetic flair though
I don’t feel it’s time to put up 2024 presidential campaign signs, and certainly not “Biden, DeSantis”.
The reader can call me crazy and conspiracy theorist, but the USA civilian government is currently under a military run Continuation of Government (COG), the real Biden is long gone, Trump remains the current wartime Commander in Chief, and we are living in what is a military psyop sting operation to destroy what is known as the “deep state” and the USA Corporation created in 1871 and restore the USA Republic.
The DeSantis spat with Trump and running for POTUS is kayfabe (look up the meaning of “kayfabe” if unfamiliar with the term). The DeSantis thing is part of the psyop.
So, I, at least, feel it’s way too premature for political signage.
Again, feel free to call this writer crazy conspiracy theorist (albeit the proof exists, much on official dot gov and dot mil sites).
@Frank D. I’ll tell you the one who smies a deep Irish smile when he hears comments like yours is Joe Biden himself. Everyone who underestimates him always seems to wind up with the short end of the stick. He’s had setbacks, but he’s led enactment of some of the most positive and revolutionary changes since LBJ. Where’s the evidence (any evidence) that he’s not a “functioning adult”? There is none unless you point to his fall after tripping over a sandbag. It’s “agism” pure and simple and it’s starting to really wear thin.
I’m 87 and Biden just turned 80. He will be just fine if he paces himself. Biden and I are both members of the forgotten generation, that small group of Americans sandwiched between the boomers and World War 2 generations.
We came to adulthood before either Vietnam or Watergate and for young liberals like me, I witnessed the power of the Federal Government to do some really great things. If you want to see and hear something that reflects the best go to You Tube and download the 1956 debate between Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver. It’s crisp, informative and unscripted.
I’m trying not to live in the past. I’m backing a remarkable young woman who’s running for Mayor of Marlborough. She’s more than half a century younger than I am, but I’m learning new things from the what she advocates and how she handles herself with issues and people.
@Bob. i dont know what to say. i voted for Biden, but gosh, revolutionary? how about bumbling and forgettable. How about continuing with unnecessary covid stimulus (trump started, biden pushed too far) which caused the worst inflation in 40 years. Biden, while better than the alternative we had, is far from anything good. Age or not his presidency is a giant nothing-burger. Age aside, or better said, his individual ability solely in consideration is a problem. He stages questions with the press, has scripts, has said many times “Im not supposed to talk about that” or “Im not supposed to”…whatever. you are the president, you decide what to talk about. FFS already, he is not fit for this. I voted for him and will vote for him again if trump is on the other side – but we as a country deserve better than a choice between those two. holy hell what has happened that this is the choice?!
MY STOP ITALIAN HATE SIGN
STAYS UP ALL YEAR
MY HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY
SIGN COMES
OUT OCTOBER FIRST
COMES DOWN
NOVEMBER FIRST
HAVE RETIRED MY
LETS
GO
BRANDON
SIGN
Are all your signs in capital letters too?
YES!!!!!!!!!!
🙂
Biden has been a calm, steady, secure president free of the histrionics and lunacy of his corrupt predecessor. Disagree with him over this issue or that, and most people will, but he has restored integrity to the institution of the presidency. The impairments of age have had no effect on the substance of his work. Look at the compromise he negotiated concerning the debt ceiling. Like it or not, two adversarial parties met halfway.
As for signs, I wouldn’t want them to be permanent features of the suburban landscape. Within prescribed electoral seasons, however, they seem appropriate. I never did get the flamingos business…what’s it all about?
Part of the power of election signs sprouting up in the fall is that they remind folks that this is a local election year and it’s time to start paying attention. Signs that are up for 6 months won’t have that same effect–November is a long way off and there’s no sense of urgency. I hope other candidates wait until after Labor Day to start planting signs. (I also wonder if perma-signs are less effective–after a while you don’t even see them any more. And for me personally, a candidate having signs up for 6 months is a strike against him/her.)
I love driving through any town in the weeks before a local election and seeing political lawn signs everywhere. They reflect civic engagement and healthy democracy. As a permanent part of the landscape, they lose that effect and feel more like noise and divisiveness.
@Rhanna: You nailed it!!
I think it’s totally reasonable to have allocated time for political signage to be up and when they have to come down. Yes, the freedom of political speech is important, and just like any other freedom, there should be sensible restrictions, as well.
@Matthew and @Rhanna, I agree that even constitutional rights should be subject to sensible restrictions. For example, inciting a violent attempt to overturn an election is not protected by the first amendment. But it is not sensible to allow the government to regulate political signage (aka “speech”) on private property. Unless there is a safety issue, what harm is done by leaving one’s political signs up for months? It doesn’t count, in my view, to say that the signs are tacky, or ineffective. This is a first-amendment right we’re talking about.
@John White Yes, first amendment rights should be protected. And the definition of what is a “reasonable” limitation is certainly up for interpretation/debate. However, we do have restrictions on displays based not just on safety but on public nuisance and visual disturbance. As long as the restrictions are “content neutral”, they are constitution and sensible…in my opinion.
@Mathew–
Clearly the courts have disagreed with your [mis]understanding of the First Amendment. Not just the one court in the case involving Newton. This political lawn sign issue has been the subject of many court rulings in different parts of the country for years.
That’s one of the things that was so egregious about the case in Newton. Most of Newton’s elected officials were well aware that our political lawn sign ordinance would not hold up in court. I raised this issue in 2005 when I ran for Mayor. The City Council left an unconstitutional law on the books, and they were the primary beneficiaries as incumbent office holders. Incumbents used this law to suppresses political speech, and make it considerably harder to publicly criticize or run against them.
@Mike I’m not a lawyer, not sure if you are. However, a bit of research will show that time restrictions on political signs, particularly those related to an event , such as an election, are indeed constitutional. For example, courts have upheld the forced removal of signs within a reasonable period (as soon as 10 days) following an elections. As far as prior to elections, it seems that the only successful challenge to time restrictions was a 60-day ban.
Mathew– How often do you see unanimous rulings from the US Supreme Court? The justices seldom reach unanimity because interpreting the Constitution is a subjective art. With dozens of cases across many states regarding political lawn signs, occasionally differing outcomes are no surprise.
We could both cherry pick cases from different jurisdictions to support our position. But we don’t have to argue the point in Newton, since the City’s own attorney called the ordinance “unconstitutional,” and the City Council changed the law in response to that opinion and Martina Jackson’s lawsuit.
Here’s the ugly part… The City Council knew for years that the lawn sign ordinance was unconstitutional, but keeping it on the books presented an electoral advantage for incumbent [Aldermen]/Councilors. So that body of elected officials was perfectly content to leave the law in place, because it provided them with a political advantage.
Frankly, I don’t understand those folks who think aesthetics should be prioritized over political expression. In my opinion, we should be encouraging more people to participate in the democratic process. In local elections lawn signs are critical to the exercise of democracy. Allowing incumbent office holders to dictate when their opponents can put up lawn signs is not only unconstitutional, it is down right anti-democratic.
Mike, I don’t disagree with much of what you wrote, particularly about encouraging participation in the democratic process. And I won’t argue with your point about politicians using their power to keep themselves in office. At the same time, your concession that Constitutional law is a ‘subjective art” and that there have been court cases that fall have fallen on both side of the debate belies your adamance that any time limits on the use of lawn signs are unconstitutional. There is no right that is absolute, it’s always about finding the right balance between an individual liberty and the common good. That’s why most second amendment absolutists are seen, by reasonable people, as so misguided. I imagine you would agree there are limits to the use of political signs. Where you draw that line is simply different than where I and some others might. I respect your opinion and certainly don’t think it’s unreasonable.