A Sign of Compliance, Please

The long, crowded ballot that awaits Ventura County on Nov. 7 guarantees that the next two months will bring lively debate over a vast spectrum of local, state and national issues.

That’s great.

It also means the county’s roadsides, shop windows and frontyards are sure to sprout an unusually abundant crop of colorful campaign signs--and that’s not so great.

The city of Thousand Oaks, where City Council elections often attract a dozen or more candidates, tries harder than most to keep campaign signs from overwhelming the landscape. An ordinance passed in 1972 forbids erecting them sooner than 45 days before the election and restricts where and how big they can be. All signs must be on private property, with the owner’s permission, no taller than six feet or larger than 12 square feet and limited to just one sign per candidate or issue on any parcel of land.

Despite the detailed rules, campaign season usually brings a spate of complaints that signs are being illegally placed--and more complaints about signs being surreptitiously removed. In 1998 a state Assembly candidate’s election chances evaporated after he denied tearing down a rival’s signs at 3 a.m., and a videotape revealed that he was lying.

It’s true that name recognition is one key to competing successfully in the electoral marketplace. Etching one’s moniker in the public consciousness is especially tough for challengers, who usually lack the incumbents’ easy access to media coverage. But there really isn’t room on a typical campaign sign to make much of a case about why voters should favor one candidate over the rest of the field.

As a statement against visual clutter, some candidates have forsworn signs in favor of making their point in other ways. Ventura City Council candidate Brian Brennan went that route in 1997 and was elected with the second-highest vote total among a field of 10.

We acknowledge Thousand Oaks’ attempt to keep the enthusiasm of candidates and their supporters from eclipsing all of the city’s vistas. We also encourage candidates, whether they choose to use signs or not, to follow this and other election laws in what promises to be a vigorous campaign.