The Township of Esquimalt will not be going through with a ban on election signs on public property after Coun. Ken Armour put forward a motion to do so ahead of the provincial election in October.
At a council meeting on June 24, council members voted against having staff members come back to council with a report "that explores the possibility of
banning candidates’ election signs on public land" according to the notice of motion.
Armour argued that the signs are an eyesore, and a ban would be beneficial to the environment as less plastic would end up in landfills, but signs would still be allowed on private property.
"I know a lot of people that go in elections, particularly incumbents, are now reusing signs they've used before and that is great, that does limit this, but a lot of candidates will not," he said.
He said advances in digital media and technology would provide different opportunities for candidates to market themselves, and it would be better than candidates and parties raising funds "to buy as many signs as one can in order to put them up on municipal property."
Coun. Darlene Rotchford disagreed with the motion, saying that banning signs would give incumbents more of an advantage over new candidates. She also noted that there are plenty of options for environment-friendly signs that candidates can use.
"To me, this almost feels like a conflict of interest as an incumbent," said Coun. Tim Morrison. "Political science study after political science study [says] there's so much major advantage for an incumbent, especially in local government elections where there aren't political parties or other brands for voters to differentiate between candidates."
He said it would be "extremely self-serving" if the council were to ban election signs on public property, when they themselves were elected while using election signs. He also mentioned that throughout the four election cycles he has been apart of, he's noticed less media involvement in local elections to inform and advise the public, and as politics have become more divisive in recent years, people are less likely to put up signs on their own property.
"It's a very big privilege for us to sit at this table, and anyone else in this community should have the exact same advantage or privilege offered to them that we've all had," said Morrison.
Coun. Duncan Cavens added that condo owners and renters has restrictions on what they do with their property, so the ban would benefit homeowners and property-owners. He also mentioned that for some people, signs are an indication of an election and without them, the township could see an even lower turnout than the 2022 election, which saw a 23.6 per cent turnout in Esquimalt.
The motion was defeated, with Morrison, Rotchford, Cavens, and Coun. Jacob Helliwell voting opposed.
