Well-Stuck Signs Hang On Well Past Election

Los Angeles officials and Valley community leaders have been grappling for years with the issue of illegally posted signs.

At the moment, though, Gloria Woods is more worried about the glue.

Woods, a board member and anti-graffiti volunteer with the Studio City Residents Assn., said illegal signs in her community peaked during the election season. Especially vexing, she said, were the “No on Prop. 209” placards and dozens of signs along Ventura Boulevard promoting a Sept. 27 rally held by the socialist Workers World Party. Both were affixed to poles and traffic signal boxes with a stubborn adhesive.

“We don’t know what they used, maybe wallpaper paste. But boy, is it strong stuff,” Woods said. Several volunteers plan to spread out across Studio City on Sunday to repaint places where signs could not be completely removed.

Last week, the City Council voted unanimously to initiate a crackdown on the signs. A new policy, not yet law, would enable the city to better monitor the presence of signs and improve the collection of fines from those who post signs on public property or on private property without the consent of the owner.

The city attorney’s office also recently issued a ruling that residents removing signs posted on public property could not be charged with theft.

Those efforts are welcomed by Woods, but she said the glue problem met with a sluggish city response.

James Washington, chief inspector of the Bureau of Street Maintenance, said his office simply does not have the resources to act on all sign complaints.

The Workers World signs have been up since late September. Vanessa Lewis, campaign organizer for the party’s L.A. headquarters, said she was unaware of the signs being posted.

One possible explanation for the signs appearing in Studio City is that John Peter Daly ran for Congress as the Workers World Party candidate in a district that includes portions of Studio City and North Hollywood, Lewis said.

But the party does not condone sign posting.

“Our literature has ‘do not post’ printed on it,” Lewis said.