Liberal_candidate_defies

Jeff Green | Jan 05, 2006

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Liberal candidate defies oppponents, posts signs on public property

by Jeff Green

Geoff Turner, the Liberal hopeful in Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, has been posting election signs wherever they are likely to be seen, just like candidates have done in all previous elections.

But this time many of Geoff Turner’s signs are a bit more visible because candidates from three other parties, the Conservatives, the NDP and the Green Party, have all agreed to restrict their election signs to private property.

The NDP candidate, Helen Forsey, initiated the “no sign” rule for public property, and sought agreement from the other parties to keep public spaces free of election clutter. She got the idea from candidates in other jurisdictions, including Liberal incumbent Peter Milliken in Kingston.

“It gets to be an expensive game when all the parties try to outdo each other with more and bigger signs along the highways,” Forsey said. “It becomes all show and no content. There are better ways to use people’s time and money.”

Conservative incumbent Scott Reid and Green Party candidate Mike Nickerson decided to accept Forsey’s proposal, with Scott Reid’s campaign office announcing a three party agreement in a press release on December 12.

“The three parties hope that the Liberal campaign will make a decision to join them in this initiative,” the Press release concluded.

When asked by the News in early December if they were going to follow the lead of the other three parties, Andrew Ford, Geoff Turner’s campaign manager, was cautious.

“We’re busy setting up our campaign office, and we will consider signs later on,” he said.

When Turner signs began appearing on public property this past week, Ford said that, “Elections are about getting the public to know you are there and election signs are part of the election process, so we are posting signs on public property. Remember, it was the NDP and the Conservatives who brought about this election in the first place, which neither the public nor the Liberals wanted.”

(The Frontenac News is sponsoring two All-Candidates’ meetings during this election. The first will take place on Friday, January 13 at the Kaladar Community Centre, and the second will take place on Monday, January 16 at the Verona Lions Hall. Both meetings will start at 7 pm. The public is invited to come and ask questions of the candidates.)