Signs of the times -- political weeds sprout

Something big is coming. The signs are all over the Valley -- all over the Valley. Elections, like springtime, are a time when things begin to bloom. Unfortunately, as elections approach, it is candidate signage that blooms and multiplies like weeds in every community.

The signs are like some kind of noxious creeper that clings to every fence, every post, indeed every flat surface in the Valley. And they attract one another. Take a look around the Valley as you drive along and see if you don't notice the clustering. In most places where a Jim Turner sign has sprouted, the fertile ground has also sprung a Carl Gatto sandwich.

It seems many of the people who give permission to use their property just can't say, "no." Some of the more fertile places feature signs for everyone in a given race -- several Republicans running for the same seat are featured side-by-side in flashy, big letters on bright backgrounds as if the property owner is saying, "Aw, shucks, they're all nice."

One wonders if the sheer number of signs has the desired effect, though. Have the signs become so common that they lose their impact? Even worse, in a place where natural beauty is so greatly valued, do the loud signs simply create a seasonal eyesore?

"Hi! I'm candidate X, and look what a mess I can make of your view!"

Perhaps the worse part is that some of the intrepid campaign workers who nail the signs to everything in sight have apparently failed to get permission to post on some private land. The other day a local farmer was seen backing his truck over one such sign. It might have been an accident, but he drove across the street to his other field and had a similar accident all over another candidate's sign. It's not vandalism if you do it on your own land.

It's too late this year. The budgets have been spent, and printing contracts have been signed. Maybe next election season the candidates will give us a break, though. Maybe somebody will come up with a more appealing campaign tactic … like throwing a cookout and inviting us all over. Short of that, maybe the winners can pass legislation that requires all candidates to display all the signs they printed on their own lawns for the entire year following an election.