Shelter Island Dems, GOP, Independents come together: A firm ‘Yes’ to ban yard signs

These days, bi-partisan decisions in politics may be as rare as unicorn sightings, but it’s happened on Shelter Island. (The former, that is, no word yet on the latter.)

A recent decision by the Island Democrats, Republicans and Lisa Shaw who is making an independent bid for Town Board in November, calls for no distribution of yard signs to supporters, and are asking them to refrain from putting up any signs on their own.

In a letter to the Reporter’s editor (“Candidates pledge,” July 11), signed by Cat Brigham on behalf of Shelter Island Democratic Committee; Gary Blados, on behalf of Shelter Island Republicans; and Ms. Shaw, the political leaders wrote: “As we draw nearer to election time we are excited that the public wants to begin showing support for their respective candidates. In the spirit of keeping it neighborly and our mutual love of the beauty of this island, all the campaigns/parties have agreed to these parameters about yard signs for the November election:

• We all commit to distributing no yard signs until Labor Day.

• We will communicate to our supporters to wait to put up any political signs until Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 2.

• We will commit to only posting signs in easements directly in front of private property and only with the owner’s permission.

• We are all sick of signs in roundabouts and on public land (understood here as easements not directly in front of privately owned property). As committees/candidates, we commit to removing any of our signs placed in these areas.

• We will commit to removing political signs within 48 hours after Election Day.

The move was the brainchild of Julia Weisenberg, a member of the Shelter Island GOP Committee. She spoke of the last election cycle “with sign wars,” when they were ubiquitous, in traffic circles, on Town land and Community Preservation property.

In addition, the theft, vandalism, and destruction of political yard signs was unprecedented, according to representatives from the Republican and Democratic committees, and echoed by long-time observers who say they’d never seen anything like it.

Signs have also been criticized as being bad for the environment, with many of them discarded to rot in the woods around the Island after election seasons.

“I like the old Shelter Island way for elections, something calmer and more civil,” Ms. Weisenberg said. She took her idea of eliminating the signs early in the campaign to GOP Chairman Gary Blados, who said it was “a great idea.” He admitted there were some people “who were not thrilled with the idea, but it’s a good move.”

Ms. Weisenberg then broached the idea to her friend Elizabeth Hanley, a member of the Democratic Committee, asking if the Dems would be interested in the sign boycott. Soon Ms. Shaw was in the loop and on board with the idea, as well.

The question of the effectiveness of yard signs on an election is largely unanswered. A 2015 study conducted by Columbia University Professor Donald Green found that the signs made a difference, but only by 1 or 2 points in an election, “Hardly earth shattering, but not nothing, either,” the professor reported, adding that in elections that come down to the wire, yard signs could tip the balance to one candidate.

Scott Neuman, writing for National Public Radio, reported on a study done by Vanderbilt University, where political scientists ran an experiment on the effectiveness of yard signs. They created a fictitious candidate for a town council seat, “Ben Griffin,” and plastered a well-traveled street near a school with signs touting the candidacy of the fake politician.

“A survey was mailed out a few days later by the school’s Parent Teacher Association asking respondents to list their choices for the county’s at-large council seats,” Mr. Neuman wrote. “Five real candidates were listed along with the fictitious Ben Griffin and another made-up name. Incredibly, nearly a quarter of respondents listed the fictional Ben Griffin among their top three picks.”

No fear about this on Shelter Island, which is small enough for almost all voters to know who is running for office.

Ms. Shaw said when she was notified of the idea, she was all in. “Absolutely,” she said. Along with Ms. Weisenberg and Ms. Hanley, Ms. Shaw believes “signage is a trend that’s gotten out of hand. I think the public is tired of being assaulted by the signs.

As for the bi-partisanship expressed by agreeing to a policy, Ms. Shaw said, “Rather than polarization, we have to reach across the political divide to make decisions.”