Spent much of the day in Eureka yesterday. I don’t know what impact the signs have on the outcome of a race, but a few local candidates have already plastered the landscape with their June election signs.
It’s only a trickle down here in Sohum at this point. Paul Hagen has a big sign up at Calico’s. Kathleen Bryson has a window sign up at the 4×4 sales place occupying the former office of EPIC. A few Rodoni and Downey signs pepper the main routes. I haven’t been out on Briceland Road nor Alderpoint Road recently, so I can’t say what’s out there. I expect a slew of Gallegos signs will pop up all at once at some point soon.
In Eureka Rodoni, Downey, Hislop, Bass, and Leonard can be seen everywhere. Mari Wilson has a hsndful of signs up, and Neely and Gallegos signs are starting to sprout.
I saw one Pat Cleary sign on I Street, but obviously that’s out of district. I haven’t been up in the 5th District lately so I can’t report on signage movement up there.
Virginia Bass has some huge signs up on the major arteries. She probably wins for volume at this point.
In terms of aesthetics, this year I give the prettiest sign award to Bonnie Neely. Leonard went for bright primary colors, which grab your attention but make some of them with smaller print hard to read.
Hislop isn’t seen as the favorite in the Sheriff’s race, but it won’t be for lack of signage. I’d say he’s at least matched Downey in Eureka so far, but I haven’t seen much outside of Eureka. Both Downey and Rodoni are well represented on the 101 corridor.
Again, some organizers will tell you that signs don’t win elections, but having your signs out in big numbers early conveys at minimum that you’re enthusiastic about your campaign and that you have it together.

29 comments
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April 20, 2010 at 7:46 am
Delemont
I Drive around McKinleyville this weekend: Ryan Sundberg holds a 50:1 sign advantage against Patrick Higgins. I have only seen one sign for Patrick Cleary (I’m not sure if he is still in the race). There are lots of Hislop signs as well.
April 20, 2010 at 7:46 am
Delemont
errr, drove
April 20, 2010 at 7:48 am
Delemont
Who did Patrick Cleary hire to put up his signs, “Lost Communications”?
April 20, 2010 at 7:50 am
Anonymous
On the list of campaign priorities signs are near the bottom. The question is who has been making the most phone calls? Phone banking wins elections.
April 20, 2010 at 8:24 am
Ben
I was surprised how few Neely signs I saw.
April 20, 2010 at 8:26 am
Fred Mangels
As I mentioned on Heraldo’s blog, I think Neely wins the award for most appealing sign, and I’m not a Neely supporter. I think it’s just emphasizing the name, “Bonnie”. Neat name that generates positive feelings, I guess.
That bonnie lass…
April 20, 2010 at 9:17 am
money95542
Signage Wars My Ass. Those happen when the campaigns, or rogue campaign supporters, start tearing down the other guys’ signs. The noted proliferation of signs barely counts as a skirmish.
April 20, 2010 at 9:58 am
Sun Valley Floral Farms mole
Every election season there’s always the idiot who thinks if I have more signs than any other candidate, that means I have more votes than anyone put together!!
April 20, 2010 at 3:35 pm
thrdrock
READ THE NEWS MUCH??? NOTE: from page 2 of the redwood times – this Tues: “Reggae Rising time line grows short” “Dimmick Ranch has until June 3 to get all its ducks in a row for a review of the ’09 Reggae Rising concert before the Planning Commission”
…commission must review permit each year in spite of 10 year status….
…the annual review requires that certain agencies such as the CHP and sheriff, county health, etc. submit letters in agreement….Check THIS out: “BOTH THE CHP AND THE HUMBT CO SHERIFF HAVE NOT BEEN REIMBURSED FOR THEIR SERVICES IN 2009 – THEY HAVE NOT SIGNED OFF ON 2010 EVENT…” Dimmick ranch ALSO owes $$ to ..employees… advertising bills, Piercy fire dept, and to the school district (for transportation costs in ’08!!!)
..Although tix are on sale the… “FUTURE OF REGGAE RISING SEEMS TO BE VERY MUCH IN DOUBT”
WAKE UP!! This is NEWS! now blog it!!
April 20, 2010 at 3:58 pm
anonymous
Virginia was reporting that her signs are going missing. I’ll add that yesterday in Eureka I saw someone make off with one of Jeff’s signs that was in someones lawn. The perpetrator in question had a Neely for Supervisor bumper sticker on their car.
April 20, 2010 at 4:17 pm
moviedad
Did you notice the prevalent use of the color green? Speaking as a sign-maker; they’d get more effect from red.
April 20, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Eric Kirk
I’ll add that yesterday in Eureka I saw someone make off with one of Jeff’s signs that was in someones lawn. The perpetrator in question had a Neely for Supervisor bumper sticker on their car.
Well I’ll just add that I saw someone make off with signs for Gallegos, Hagen, Brooks, Neely, Cleary, and Higgins and the perpetrator in question had bumperstickers for Rodoni, Bass, Leonard, Sundberg, and Palin on their car.
April 20, 2010 at 9:17 pm
nick bravo
Eric, don’t dismiss peoples reports of sign stealing. Its a known tactic.
April 20, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Eric Kirk
Well then, it’s a pretty stupid tactic if you ask me. Especially if you wear a bumpersticker to the crime.
April 21, 2010 at 5:41 am
moviedad
There was some idiot on craigslist in Redding that was paying for stolen signs from a candidate he didn’t like. Sounds like BS, but another poster (or the same poster) said he took the money. The “Wretched Flashlight” had an article about a rash of stolen signs, so who knows. Still a crime of petty theft I would think.
April 21, 2010 at 6:59 am
Anonymous
so you lie.
April 21, 2010 at 7:28 am
Eric Kirk
About what?
April 21, 2010 at 9:34 am
Anonymous
If you want a Gallegos sign put up on your property, contact the campaign 442.9600 or info@votepaul.org and they’ll send someone out to install a sign.
It would be nice to see more of the big ones up on the highways in SoHum, so folks who own property that backs up to major thoroughfares should make a point of contacting them.
April 21, 2010 at 9:46 am
money95542
So I suppose that (signage) wars have actually been declared after all? I’m getting out my Ronald Reagan bumper sticker and going looking for some nice racy lawn signs to seize. It’s all in support of my campaign to see Reagan on the 50 dollar bill.
Eric, how about “like a rug.” Whatever that means. You certainly get walked on from time to time.
April 21, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Anonymous
REGGAE RISING SINKING!!! Please let it be true, and let it be a karmic butt-kicking! Oh thank Jah for some sweet sweet justice.
April 23, 2010 at 6:38 am
Dave Kirby
Having been involved in a number of campaigns and put up thousands of signs both here and down in So Cal I must admit they have very little impact on the outcome of an election. Studies have shown that while they may be important to maintaining morale of the troops behind a candidate they sway almost no one.
April 23, 2010 at 8:07 am
Eric Kirk
Well, I wonder if it’s one of those things you have to do to have a chance of winning. You don’t win because you did it, but you lose if you don’t.
April 23, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Dave Kirby
There’s a business in Eureka that is owned by one the more rabid right wingers in town. Has American Spectator magazines in the waiting room. He’s got a candidate’s signs all over his business. I don’t know the candidate but I won’t be voting for him. So I guess signs do inflience some of us.
April 23, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Eric Kirk
American Spectator isn’t the worst of right wing magazines to tell you the truth. They incurred the wrath of their own back in the early 1990s in an article entitled “Why Danny Can’t Read” in which case they admitted that Dan Quayle really wasn’t that bright. They were attacked by their base with one letter saying “you have just shown yourselves to be part of the North Eastern liberal elite.” I always respect that kind of willingness to jeopardize subscriptions when truth transcends politics. Dissent Magazine is good for that on the left. In These Times used to be, but not so much since James Weinstein passed away.
April 23, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Dave Kirby
As I recall it was A.S. who published the Clintons killed Foster story.
April 24, 2010 at 10:06 am
Anonymous
If someone has your candidates sign up in their yard, chances are they will be voting for your candidate. So those with the most signs do have an advantage. And yes, people do polls in their heads over which candidate has the most signs up. Everyone wants to back a winner. It measures whether “their” choice is viable. Dave, this especially holds true in small town politics as opposed to highly populated areas.
April 24, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Eric Kirk
Anonymous – in theory you’re right. But campaigns and campaign analysis have been honed to an art now, and the point is that the experts have found no correlation between large amounts of lawn signs and success. The same is not true of phone banking, media spots, old fashioned pressing the flesh, and GOTV. The seasoned campaigners will tell you that signs and bumper stickers are at the bottom of the list of priorities.
I wasn’t really convinced of this, but a few years back I was convinced that Rex Bohn was going to beat Chris Kerrigan in Eureka, based upon the signs. Of course, Kerrigan won handily, largely because he walked and knocked on just about every front door in Eureka.
April 25, 2010 at 7:35 am
mresquan
“I wasn’t really convinced of this, but a few years back I was convinced that Rex Bohn was going to beat Chris Kerrigan in Eureka, based upon the signs.”
The same result a few years back in regards to Jeff Smith,who had more signs than anyone,yet came in 3rd.
And Eric,something that team Neely needs to realize here is that Virginia is getting those signs put up as a result of knocking on doors,which is something Bonnie is woefully lagging on.And a lot of people,especially here on blogs are asking for Virginia to become clear on issues instead of innuendo,but she is putting herself out there to answer some questions each time she knocks on someone’s door,and hopefully she is being asked some good questions.
Bonnie is running a horrible campaign,and Virginia and her team are taking great advantage of that up to this point.Bonnie seems to be expecting people to vote for her automatically,or maybe at this point in her life,she’s lost the will to run and the desire to serve and sees greener pastures ahead working in Sacramento or something along those lines.
April 25, 2010 at 9:05 am
Eric Kirk
If Virginia is knocking on doors and making the calls and Bonnie is not, then Virginia will win.