Before placing their campaign signs in residents' yards, Athens political candidates might want to make sure their signs comply with city code.
Philip Roush, 3rd-ward city council candidate, said that starting on Monday, code enforcement officers told his supporters to remove banners announcing his candidacy from homes and even fraternity houses.
Roush said his supporters were asked to remove these signs because of their political content. It's selective enforcement, he said.
Code Enforcement Director Steve Pierson, who has the authority to decide what signs are placed within the city, said these banners could not be hung because they are considered an advertising mechanism.
According to the Athens City Code, banners for the purpose of advertising or attracting attention to a particular sale or event only are permitted in the city if approved by the zoning inspector.
Ohio University sororities and fraternities are allowed to hang banners outside of their residences because they are temporary and are usually promoting an activity, Pierson said.
Pierson said he uses his own discretion in deciding what signs and banners are permitted in the city and often takes the heat for his decision, such as when he allows campaign signs advertising student senate candidacies because it is a university activity.
Roush said he understands Pierson's job but disagrees with the idea that his signs were being used as an advertising mechanism. He was trying to provide an opportunity for change and allow for student voices to be heard, he said.
He also had placed campaign signs in peoples' yards but found that they had to be replaced at least once a day.
Roush said he heard that failure to remove the banners would result in a $50 fine per sign, per day. Pierson said the fines were not set and would be determined by city council.
-
17 Archives
Erica Bush
