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economist sunsuntribune municipal election 2003 saturday nov 1 2003 staff photosjoerd witteveen ns necessary election evi by lisa queen staff writer randy bolt is so frustrated about the damage done to his car by a flying election sign in vaughan he has decided not to vote in the nov 10 municipal election im at the point im definite ly not going to vote said the toronto resident who com- plains his appeals to several politicians to help him address the problem have fallen on deaf ears if theyre not going to help me now when theyre kissing up for my vote will they help me after the election welcome to the world of elec tion sign wars where political candidates trying to capture the attention of voters are at odds with residents upset with the vandalism eye pollution and safety hazards the advertise ments create making matters worse this fall is the fact the municipal election comes on the heels of a provincial vote meaning signs of one political stripe or another will have been up from sept 2 to nov 10 east gwillimbury mayor james young is the only mayor in york region who doesnt need to post signs becausehe has been acclaimed he argued signs are a neces sary evil for politicians they are needed to attract voters atten tion but the bigbudget adver tisements are also a target for vandals mr young believes signs have more impact if they are posted on residents lawns where they are a clear indication of voter support than if they are clutter ing up roadways and intersec tions i never found much point in putting them on every road side and public property i could find he said if people see them too much it can be a bit of overkill i think they can get a little too mucti my biggest concern is safety mn bolt believes if candidates are going to post signs along roads they must be willing to accept responsibility for any problems they create his bumper was slightly damaged while he was driving home oct 15 from his job in aurora as he was travelling south on dufferin street north of steeles avenue he said heavy winds sent a mario ferri election sign flyinginto traffic the sign deflected ojf two cars arid then hit mine it hitthe bumper and landed on my windshield before blowing away said mr bolt who said the sign left red and black paint on his bumper- mr bolfs repeated attempts to contact mr ferri award mumfctr 1t ll 1 lllj jf m councillor who is running for regional councillor this time out have gone unanswered other politicians he has approached have ignored his appeals i want mr ferri to repair the damage just touch up the paint and ill buff it up crazytime mr ferri said he has received mr bolts emails and intends to meet with him to discuss the incident when he gets a moment its just been a crazy time he said if it can be established if it was my sign i want to be satis fied that is the case of course i will pay meanwhiletmr ferri sympa thizes with residents concerns about election signs he supports introducing a new policy that candidates would agree to limit the size and placement of their signs its an environmental hazard and an economic one too said mr ferri who estimates about 600 of his signs have been destroyed however he stops short of calling for a ban on election signs you cant get rid of them v altogether he said incumbents have the advan tage in having their name recog nized for those new people try ing to break into it a ban would be an infringement in their rights i dont think it would be constitutional but i think we can restrict them and control them thornhill resident peter macleod is infuriated by candi dates blatant disregard for sign bylaws when you think about it politicians are the biggest sign polluters on the face of the earth im not going to vote because of the signs he said its not a case of freedom of speech its a case of litter non- recyclable litter my concern is the very people who pass the bylaws regulating the use of signs are breaking them mr macleods concerns are echoed by vaughan watch the citizens group has post- ed examples of politicians flout ing sign bylaws on its website georgina mayor jeff holec found out this month how nasty the election sign war can be he was left badly shaken after discovering vandals spray-paint- ed obscenities on signs on his frontlawn york regional police are y investigating the incident its not a nice thing to know there are people out there who are that willing to threaten your security over an election issue mr holec said it definitely leaves you with a feeling of threatened security like political hopefuls in any community godwin chan has had his fair of election signs damaged by vandals but the council candidate for ward 6 of richmond hill was taken aback when he saw a pos sible racial slur defacing one of his signs this month 7 although mr chan stressed he doesnt want to blow the inci dent out of proportion he believes the vandalism could be read as a degrading remark against his chinese background its a derogatory word for my ancestry said mr chan who found the offending sign oct 20 southwest of 16th and bayview avenues when i saw that i thought it was way out of line its disturb ing if someone calls me a jerk or doesnt like my campaign thats one thing thats democracy but to make a derogatory comment about my ancestry is another thing melonhead hair ca vvv iisforipiisi lis ad v y mm 5h mm centre 9059449098 rect- 4164837010 all- 9057316200 pop in or call us for an appointment