Campaign Signs Draw Fire

Ned Lamont’s campaign is breaking the law by plastering utility poles and street signs with partisan placards, charged West Rock Alderman Darnell Goldson. He aims to put a stop to it.

In a submission to the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night, Goldson requested that city agencies enforce the city ordinance that prohibits posting notices on public property. His proposed order is now headed to committee for a public hearing.

Goldson — who happens to be a volunteer for Lamont’s opponent for the Democratic gubernatorial election, Dan Malloy — said he’s motivated by a desire to stop the Lamont team from periodically blanketing city intersections with campaign signs. The ones at the corner of Goffe and Sperry streets (pictured) have been up since the Freddy Fixer parade in May, Goldson said. A Tuesday afternoon visit to the intersection found some 65 Lamont signs, attached to no-parking signs, lamp posts, stop-light poles, and stapled to trees.

That’s a violation of Section 18 – 25 of the New Haven Code of General Ordinances, said Goldson. The ordinance mandates fines of $100 per day for posting placards on city traffic signs or utility poles without permission.

John Prokop, head of the department of public works, said that his employees have taken down about 160 Lamont signs in the last three weeks. They haven’t had to remove signs from other political candidates, he said.

Goldson said he is an unpaid volunteer for the campaign of Dan Malloy. He acknowledged that his submission to the Board of Aldermen might be interpreted as political maneuvering. ​“Whether it’s maneuvering or not, it’s still the law,” he said.

By allowing the Lamont campaign to paper street signs with impunity, the city administration is taking political action of its own, Goldson said. ​“Just because [Mayor] John DeStefano and [Democratic Town Committee Chair] Susie Voigt have endorsed Lamont, doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants,” Goldson said before the meeting.

“There’s no political motivation,” said Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts. ​“We take down all signs.”

Prokop said that although it hasn’t been the Department of Public Works’ top priority, his workers have been taking the signs down steadily. ​“And we still have them,” he said. The Lamont campaign has been notified that it can pick up its 160 signs, but it has not responded, Prokop said.

Asked about whether the Lamont campaign should be fined, Prokop said he would send a notice of fine if he found that the campaign was posting signs in an area where his workers had previously removed Lamont banners. So far that hasn’t happened, he said.

Prokop said he wasn’t aware of the Lamont signs at Goffe and Sperry. ​“I’ll get a guy over there tomorrow” to take them down, he said.

Justine Sessions, communications director for the Lamont campaign, emailed this statement on Tuesday night: ​“Volunteers and supporters come into our offices every day requesting signs, bumper stickers and other campaign materials. We always ask our supporters to comply with the law when putting up signs, and do our best to remove any that are displayed illegally, but ultimately we cannot control where each of our signs is placed.”