I’m about to add my two cents to the sign saga that is accompanying this, as many past elections, in Caledon.
As a former Caledon Regional Councillor, I am all too familiar with the sign shenanigans endured during an election campaign.
Back then I watched well-intentioned campaign donations go down the drain as signs were broken and stolen.
I also watched opponents’ signs go up in illegal spaces and – does anyone really think that Town bylaw officers, once notified, would have the time and resources available to remove them all before they got hundreds (or thousands) of views? The people doing this are counting on exactly that.
Right before one election an opponent’s signs were erected pre-dawn all along Albion Vaughan Townline (although signs weren’t permitted on public property) in time for hundreds (or thousands) of morning commuters to see them. And then gone shortly thereafter.
As well, a member of an opponent’s team drove around Bolton with a large A-frame sign on the back of their truck leaving it parked in busy places – like the downtown four corners – for hours on end. A creative way to circumvent the no signs on public property rule and get an edge on candidates who were following the rules.
They got creative again by standing on the side of the road on Hwy 50 at the south end of Bolton during morning rush hour waving the candidate’s campaign sign at the southbound commuters.
And the “my team did it without my knowledge” excuse? Any candidate with integrity, or at least wanting to be viewed as having integrity, should start their very first team meeting by going over the rules and making sure they are completely understood and that compliance is expected.
The bottom line here?
In my humble opinion, anyone willing to break the rules and, worse, go to such lengths to circumvent them, is demonstrating a blatant disregard for doing what’s right. It is a sign of someone who feels they cannot win fairly. It is disrespectful to the community they purport to love and want to serve. Not a good look. And, is it indicative of their behaviour if elected?
Don’t let the “sign popularity contest” sway your vote. It’s too valuable for that. Vote on the issues that matter most to you, Caledon and its future.
