DANIEL J. ALLIE
WESTFIELD – Candidate Daniel J. Allie , who filed nominations papers for both the Ward 2 Council seat and an At-large Council seat said Monday that he will drop out of contention for the ward seat and focus on his At-large campaign.
Allie, a resident of Union Street, became a Ward 2 resident last year when the City Council drew new ward and precinct lines as a result of population shifts identified in the Federal 2010 Census study and would have had to contend against two long-time Ward 2 residents, Ralph Figy and Carl Vincent, in a preliminary on Sept. 24.
Allie’s decision to focus on the At-large seat means that Figy and Vincent will vie for that Ward 2 post in the Nov. 5 general election. Allie will be one of 12 At-large candidates on the Nov. 5 ballot seeking one of the seven At-large seats on the council.
Allie, in a press release, said his style of government will be to seek “common sense solutions” and that he will work in concert with city officials “to get things done, control spending and stop raising taxes and fees.”
Allie charges that the city’s present sign ordinance, which includes political signs, is unfair, especially to candidates new to city voters, and needs to be amended.
Allie has already run afoul of that ordinance and was ordered by Building Superintendent Jon Flagg to remove his political signs put up prematurely before the 60-day preliminary election as a Ward 2 council candidate, the preliminary campaign season began July 24.
Allie may be required to remove the signs a second time since the 60-day November General Election campaign timeline does not begin until Sept. 5.
Allie said that city residents “want new people to be involved and run for office. The sign ordinance restricts putting up yard signs until 60 days before an event, but does not define what the event is. If there is no preliminary before the November election, candidates must wait until September to put up signs.
“This prohibits a first-time candidate from putting up signs in the spring, even for a few weeks. New candidates need name recognition much earlier than September. Hopefully, we can address that next year,” Allie said in his release.
The current temporary (political) sign regulation was approved two years ago, on Sept. 1, 2011.
Building Superintendent Jon Flagg, as the city’s code enforcement officer is required to enforce the temporary sign ordinance, which requires interpretation of the language adopted by the City Council.
The ordinance, Section 8-10.3, paragraph 3 reads:
3. Temporary Signs pertaining to campaigns, sales, promotions, drives or events of political, civic, philanthropic, educational or religious organizations shall be permitted provided such signs:
a. In Residential Districts
(1) shall not exceed a size of six (6) square feet excluding incidental supporting frames or structures,
(2) shall be within the lot line,
(3) shall not be any higher (the top) than eight (8) feet from the ground,
(4) shall not be illuminated or light emitting.
b. In all Business and Industrial Districts:
(1) must comply with the requirements for signs in that district
c. In all Districts:
(1) signs that are different but substantially equivalent for the same candidate/cause/event shall be considered the same sign,
(2) shall not contain moving elements,
(3) shall not be displayed more than two (2) months prior to the event,
(4) shall not be displayed more than four (4) months in any calendar year,
(5) shall be taken down within five (5) days following the event date,
(6) shall not be located in an area or manner that would prevent the driver of a motor vehicle from having a clear and unobstructed view of official traffic control signs and approaching or merging traffic,
(7) shall not be posted on public property (09/01/2011)
The language appears to be explicit and clear, until it is time to enforce it, at which time it becomes a judgment call.
