Soapbox: Election Signs

My soapbox today is a congratulatory tip of the hat to my local candidates rather than a rant.  Our small town is often populated [during election seasons] by what seems like more political signs than people!  They crowd together on every corner of every intersection.  Years ago there would be open spaces on straightaways, between corner clusters.  But more recently even the straight stretches become filled with a nonstop border of competing signs.  Last year I counted over 65 signs in less than a quarter mile stretch, divided between only three candidates! 

Anyway, this year the local candidates made a pact and announced in the local paper, that they had agreed to forgo posting campaign signs completely.  Instead they each did lengthy interviews with the newspaper about their positions and doubled the number of community candidate forum nights. The decision helped the town enjoy the fall foliage without signs spoiling it. The decision saved paper. Without the need to pay for all those signs and posters, less campaign money needed to be raised that is better used elsewhere. Finally, the alternative chosen provided better ways for townspeople to learn what the candidates stood for, rather than just the name recognition battle of signage.  Hooray!  Everybody wins!!

Now if we could just get state and national candidates to learn from that!