To the Editor:

With the election season upon us, we are all passionate about who we will support in our local, county, state, and national elections. Volunteers work tirelessly to raise awareness for their candidates.

Meet-and-greet events are scheduled for constituents to discuss their concerns, ask questions, and show their support. Fundraising events are held to help candidates purchase advertising and cover costs of campaigning and to purchase palm cards and lawn signs.

Volunteers and campaign staff spend countless hours on these activities. The placing of lawn signs is also a very time-consuming process and often can cover miles and miles of roadways and speaking with residents for permission to place signs. These lawn signs are not cheap!

As of late, it has been noticed that many of the signs in the town of Westerlo are missing. This is a felony. I have contacted the New York State Board of Elections to inquire about the New York State Law regarding lawn signs, which confirmed in an email:

“Most laws regarding the placement of lawn signs are local zoning ordinances. The only state law is the Fair Campaign Code in the Board of Elections regulations, 6201.1: § 6201.1 Fair Campaign Code.

“In order that all political campaigns be conducted under a climate promoting discussion of the issues and presentation of the records and policies of the various candidates, stimulating just debate with respect to the views and qualifications of the candidates and without inhibiting or interfering with the right of every qualified person and political party to full and equal participation in the electoral process, the following is hereby adopted by the New York State Board of Elections pursuant to section 3–106 of the Election Law as the fair campaign code for the State of New York.

“No person, political party or committee during the course of any campaign for nomination or election to public office or party position shall, directly or indirectly, whether by means of payment of money or any other consideration, or by means of campaign literature, media advertisements or broadcasts, public speeches, press releases, writings or otherwise, engage in or commit any of the following:

“(a) Practices of political espionage including, but not limited to, the theft of campaign materials or assets, placing one’s own employee or agent in the campaign organization of another candidate, bribery of members of another’s campaign staff, electronic or other methods of eavesdropping or wiretapping.

“(b) Political practices involving subversion or undermining of political parties or the electoral process including, but not limited to, the preparation or distribution of any fraudulent, forged or falsely identified writing or the use of any employees or agents who falsely represent themselves as supporters of a candidate, political party or committee.

“(c) Deliberate misrepresentation of the contents or results of a poll relating to any candidate’s election; also, failure to disclose such information relating to a poll published or otherwise publicly disclosed by a candidate, political party or committee as required to be disclosed by rule or regulation of the New York State Board of Elections.

“(d) Any acts intended to hinder or prevent any eligible person from registering to vote, enrolling to vote or voting.”

In addition, the New York State Department of Transportation also informed me of the following rules:

“There are further restrictions that must be adhered to when placing any type sign on state highways:

— “Signs are not to be placed on the right-of-way of any controlled-access or expressway-type road (e.g. I-87, I-90, I-890, Route 7, Route 85);

— “Signs should not cause a sight-distance problem or interfere with safe traffic movement in any area including intersections;

— “Signs should not be placed in a median or traffic island-type area where they are a distraction’

— “Signs should not present any operational problems for workers to maintain the roadside, such as mowing.

“If temporary signs of any kind are placed in any of these areas and cause problems, NYSDOT will remove them. The last regulation is a particularly difficult one to adhere to since you won’t likely know when and where the Department of Transportation is going to mow. Unfortunately, we’ve fallen behind with our last cycle of mowing this season in some areas within Albany County, and have removed signs to allow unrestricted passage for our mowers.”

I have also contacted Ed Lawson, zoning officer for the town of Westerlo. Mr. Lawson confirmed that the only local law pertaining to lawn signs has to do with size. The size of the candidate lawn signs is well within the size permitted by local law.

Therefore, someone or some entity or both are confiscating the Republican candidates’ signs. If they have been confiscated because they were breaking a law, then the opponent signs would be missing as well, but that is not the case.

In the case of the last noted item from the state’s Department of Transportation, if mowing were indeed an issue then other signs, including the opponents’ signs would be removed as well, and they have not been confiscated by the department

These political lawn signs are small in size and in no way hinder the sight distance or interfere with the safe movement of traffic. They have not been placed in locations that would block signage, hinder safe passage, or limit any driver’s view. The signs that have been placed by volunteers for the Westerlo Republican Committee who have adhered to the strict rules stated above.

In addition to the signs that have been removed from New York State roads, signs on both Albany County and town roads have been removed. Many homeowners are also reporting signs missing from their personal property as well.

As the Republican chairperson for Westerlo, I made a point of instructing our committee to be sure they are getting permission from landowners when placing signs and to be sure that any sign placement not obstruct the view of traffic and not impede safe travel by motorists. I do not believe any signs have been placed in violation.

The bottom line is that removing of signs is a crime. While lawn signs do not elect candidates, they do raise awareness and make a show of support.

Perhaps a neighbor who was unfamiliar with the platform of a candidate noticed his neighbor’s sign. He might then be inclined to inquire about the candidate’s position on issues that were meaningful to him.

As voters, we must trust in the process. We must have every confidence that all candidates are abiding by campaign laws and following all rules for fair campaigning.

In the end, it is the candidate with the most votes who wins. If all candidates do not abide by the law, the election is not a fair one. Everyone needs to be mindful of the time and money spent to these ends.

Be fair. Be ethical. Behave with integrity and trust in the process for the benefit of all. Passion can be exciting and engaging. It is encouraging when we have so many who want to participate and campaign but we all must follow the law.

On a separate note to the residents of Westerlo — all three districts now vote at the Westerlo Town Hall at 933 County Route 401. The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 6. If anyone needs transportation to the polls, please reach out to me and I will see that you are able to vote.

Lisa DeGroff

Westerlo GOP Chairperson