A campaign hangover, one political sign at a time
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
At least six political signs in the ground on one side the Indian Road and Hayden intersection. Photo: Gitanjali Poonia/Axios
Irked by the droves of political signs around Scottsdale? You're not alone — and the City Council wants to do something about it.
Why it matters: The signs, some for candidates who are no longer in the running, aren't just an eyesore. They can block drivers' sight lines at intersections, obstruct pedestrian routes and become roadside hazards, and when campaigns leave signs up past the legal deadlines, city workers have to clean up the mess.
By the numbers: Code enforcement inspectors removed over 2,600 political signs this election cycle as of Aug. 25, the police department tells Axios.
- The 15-day grace period to remove signs following the July primaries ended on Aug. 5.
Zoom in: A crowded City Council race — with eight candidates on the primary ballot — helped drive the surge in signs, Council member Jan Dubauskas said at a council meeting in late August.
- Vice Mayor Maryann McAllen noted that commercial signs — from window washing to concrete services — also tend to proliferate during election season, making the streetscape look "like a barrage of signs."
State of play: During a meeting late last month, the City Council unanimously voted to direct city officials to investigate what Scottsdale can legally do about political signs.
Between the lines: The sign fatigue is spilling beyond City Hall. In a recent Scottsdale Reddit thread, residents piled on complaints, with one poster saying the signs "drive me crazy when you can't see at an intersection to make a turn. "
Flashback: In 2007, Scottsdale adopted a resolution prohibiting all signs in public rights-of-way to reduce visual clutter.
- Yes, but: A 2011 state law restricted cities from enforcing such rules against political signs during election season.
Zoom out: In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Gilbert's sign rules limiting size, placement and length of time displayed.
- Cities can still limit how big signs are, where they go and how long they stay up — as long as the rules apply regardless of what the sign says.
The fine print: State law allows cities up to two tourism-focused sign-free zones, capped at 3 square miles.
- Scottsdale has one in Old Town and one in north Scottsdale, between Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and Bell Road.
- Dubauskas said signs have still made their way to the sign-free zone.
The bottom line: The primaries may be over, but apparently not everyone got the memo.