Campaign signs where they don’t belong? Call enforcement

Now you see them, now you don’t.

That’s what supporters of Colorado HD 23 incumbent Rep. Max Tyler say, anyway.

Sometime late Friday night, dozens of Tyler signs disappeared in NW Lakewood. Funny thing is, some say that the neighborhood filled that night with signs from his opponent, Republican Edgar Johansson, many of those going up illegally in public right of ways.

Johansson says he knows nothing of such activities. “If my people even consider doing that, I would tell them not to do it,” he says.

One of the people who lost a sign does blame Johansson or at least his supporters, saying it was strange to drive through the neighborhood and see all the Tyler signs missing while at the same time seeing lots of new Johansson signs. She said it is not the first time Tyler’s signs had vanished from the neighborhood.

“I am insulted to think that folks would be so low as to remove signs, and then do it more than once. It speaks to a lack of integrity and respect for others and their property,” said Tyler supporter Pamela Rouse.

“It really makes you wonder about all the talk regarding protecting the Constitution. So much for freedom of expression—I mean, a simple sign, really?”

There is nothing much anyone can do about missing signs. Signs on public property, though, are another story. Those are illegal. If you see signs in rights of ways or other public places, you can call enforcement officers and if they have time, they will come and get them.

Julian Zsako, with Denver’s community planning and development department, said candidate signs in public areas are illegal and that campaigns can be fined, though they seldom are.

“It’s a safety issue,” he said. “Motorists need to be attentive to regulatory signs, to other cars and to pedestrians. They don’t need to be distracted by campaign signs.”

To complain about signs,

In Denver, call 311
In Arvada, call 720-898-7465
In Golden, call 303-384-8010
In Lakewood, call 303-987-7566
In Wheat Ridge, call 303-235-2847
For signs in State Highway rights of way, call 303-757-9514

The code enforcement officials we spoke with, said they do respond to complaints and will also picks signs up even without a complaint, if they see them.