SPOKANE, Wash. — The campaigns are long gone, but some of their signs remain. We looked into Spokane city regulations to find out when you can finally expect to see streets and yards free of political advertising.
The rules vary depending on where the signs are located.
For signs in public areas, like road medians, it’s the campaigns’ job to come around and pick them up.
But if the campaigns haven’t retrieved their signs a week or two after the election, the city’s streets department may start taking them. The signs most likely to get taken quickly are those interfering with other work being conducted by the department.
Most campaigns, though, have already gotten to work on collecting their signs. That makes sense, because signs aren’t cheap. For instance, in the most recent race, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers’s campaign spent $13,215 on signs. In addition, candidates frequently re-use signs in future elections.
Because of this, when the city does start collecting signs, it won’t just throw them away. Rather, they’ll keep them in storage downtown, and give the campaigns a month to pick them up.
For signs on private land, the decision is up to the landowner. The city does not really have any say about signs in this realm.
However, if you are part of a Homeowner’s Association, it might have sign-related restrictions. State law does state that HOAs must let residents put up signs in the time before elections, but afterwards, associations may have the leeway to make you or your neighbor take them down.
All things considered, it’s likely you should have a sign-free commute once again quite shortly. That is, at least until the city council primaries start up around May.