Why no Campaign Signs?

Photo from CTV News

Thank you to everyone who has asked 'Why no signs?'. I'm sharing three reasons why I have chosen not to use campaign signs in the community and I encourage you to think about what they mean to you as well.

1. The 3 Rs are now the 6 Rs: Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, and Recycle - and are stated in that order because, very simply, we all need to limit our waste. I am rethinking, refusing, and reducing my own purchases of single use plastic (like election signs!). I start with the first ‘R’ whenever and wherever I can.

2. Purpose.

Yes, we need voters to learn about candidates for City Council, however signs in public spaces only serve to state our names. There is already so much competition for wayfinding, business, and traffic safety signage - and many factors influence where those signs are placed. I am choosing to be mindful of how cluttered our community becomes during campaign season.

3. Demonstrating that we can all be better by adapting some of our processes.

I’ve had so many conversations with people who find campaign signs visually disruptive and wasteful, yet think there is no other way. "That's the way it's always been done," they say. I am challenging myself to do better. Yes to public announcements about upcoming elections, but no more individual election signs in public greenspaces, forests, and roadways.

Thank you for reading!