Election signs that work, election signs that don’t

For those who haven’t seen them for themselves, here are some of the signs I wrote about a few days ago.

The Messmer Mess, as you can see, takes some solid fundamentals and then goes downhill from there. How can anyone tell who is running for what with this clutter of signage?

Marg Spina and Joan Cowden, on the other hand, keep it simple and easy to read, with bold letters and no attempt to tell you anything but that they are running for a particular position.

Election signs (typically called “lawn signs,” but few are actually put up on people’s lawns) should be aimed at straight name recognition so voters become familiar with who’s running. This is, of course, particularly important for people who have not run before and who are not as well known by the public.

I recall one exception to the KISS rule that worked: When Dave Gracey ran in 1999, he included the slogan”Able to think” on some of his signs. It resonated with voters, who viewed this previously unknown candidate as someone who would take a thoughtful, independent approach to council work. And, he did.

By the way, I include the Dudy sign because I appreciate a bit of word play and sense of humour.