Here, on this blog, I like to discuss the TRUTH. The TRUTH about political signs is that there is no ordinance in the Town of Barnstable that limits political sign placement to a window 30 days before an election.
The Town Council has considered enacting such an ordinance in the past, but it has NEVER approved one. First Amendment and enforcement issues forced the Council to take an alternative route.
Instead of passing a binding, enforceable LAW, the Council passed a resolve "discouraging" the use of political signs anytime other than 30 days before an election. Here's what they said:
98-135A RESOLVE - CAMPAIGN SIGNSThis is NOT a law. It is NOT an ordinance. It is NOT a court order. It is NOT legally binding in ANY way, shape or form. It is merely the opinion of the 1998 Town Council. This opinion cannot force people to take down political signs, it merely discourages them.
RESOLVE: That the standard of community character for the Town of Barnstable shall reflect the policy that political signs are discouraged prior to 30 days before an election or referendum.
(Passed by the Barnstable Town Council on 8/20/98 by a 10 yes 0 No vote.)
Is it tacky to have political signs out before an election? Maybe. However, look at the BIGGER issue: Which is more important - A person's First Amendment Rights? or You not having to see "tacky" signs?
I don't know why, but this sign issue seems to come up year, after year, after year. Every time, there is someone complaining how the signs are "illegal". They may be "discouraged", but the TRUTH is that they are NOT "illegal".
55 comments:
I'm confused. I can't tell the difference between this blog and TJ's blog. Do they have the same author?
I think it is hilarious that Joakim takes Thoman so seriously. It is one thing to get three hundred signatures town wide, and quite another to get them in a scrappy little neighborhood where your family has courted and/or intimidated constituents for years upon years.
Putting up her signs before the signatures are even submitted shows Joakim is sure she is going to be facing a recall. That elevates Thoman more than she probably deserves. Joakim is really looking very desperate and very, very stupid.
It's funny what there is money for and what there isn't. Maybe the initiator assistant should pay more attention to her own mounting financial issues and leins as well as her "white trash" looking dump called a yard! She certainly should learn to prioritize. Using gas to drive all over town for signatures and begging for rides for your kid..come on now.
There is plenty of money behind this recall. Joakim knows it. That is why she is running scared.
I am very disappointed at the extremely poor taste shown by some of the commenters on this post.
I have been forced to completely delete 7 comments because of the absolute filth they contained, and I will be reposting some other comments that have to be edited to be clean enough for this blog.
Not surprisingly, many of these comments were left by people who left more than one comment.
I do not want to be forced to activate comment moderation, but I will continue to monitor the situation.
People on ALL sides of the issues need to keep their language clean.
Thank you.
EDITED:
[This comment has been edited to conform to blog rules]
Anonymous said...
People are showing their support for Joakim, that's why signs are being requested by people and therefore being put up.
July 27, 2008 7:51 PM
EDITED:
[This comment has been edited to conform to blog rules]
(NOTE: This comment is only the opinion of this particular commenter and does not reflect the opinion of the author of this blog.)
cruising buckskin path said...
Signs are being placed on public property. [Someone] went to the homes of some of the folks who signed the affidavit and fed them a line of hooey to get them to change their minds and/or put signs up in their yards.
Homeowners were informed of councilors agreement with the town to put signs up no sooner than 30 days before an election. Joakim [ignored] this promise, just like she did when she promised to vote according to the wishes of her constituents.
Homeowners have been removing the signs, and the town will be confiscating the illegal signs sitting on town property, especially all the ones outside the sixth precinct.
July 27, 2008 8:54 PM
EDITED:
[This comment has been edited to conform to blog rules]
(NOTE: This comment is only the opinion of this particular commenter and does not reflect the opinion of the author of this blog.)
signs, signs, everywhere are signs said...
[Someone] came to my neighbor's house and reminded her that she worked for the town. She felt highly intimidated and put up a sign as requested. A photographer from the Cape Cod Times was taking pictures of all the signs yesterday, and homeowners became alarmed that they had been duped.
Now Janet Joakim is blaming the whole sign fiasco on her husband, telling people she will pass their concerns onto HIM. Who is the elected official? Janet Joakim is responsible for the actions of her agents. As usual, however, nothing is [her] fault. The papers are going to have a field day with this stuff.
July 27, 2008 9:03 PM
EDITED:
[This comment has been edited to conform to blog rules]
(NOTE: This comment is only the opinion of this particular commenter and does not reflect the opinion of the author of this blog.)
Anonymous said...
Thoman's husband has asked her not to collect any more signatures[...]. I heard money is being thrown at college kids to collect signatures this week.
July 27, 2008 9:14 PM
The list of people who have Joakim signs up is very interesting and a matter of some discussion.
I'm told that the only folks with Joakim signs arerelative and Town employees. Is this true?
There is no election scheduled so the signs are show of support and an exercise of the first ammendment these sad conspiracy theorists abuse in order to insult and belittle good people.
Sort of like the windfarm signs....
Turn the computer off and get some sleep sweetie. You need it! Besides, driving through neighborhoods must be tiring.
I just spoke with a woman I work with that had Thoman at her door with her 7 year old (that makesfor a fun summer for a child!!!), and the things she was telling my co-worker about Joakim were straight u lies and non-truths! Isn't there something we can do to educate the public about these people? It doesn't seem to be fair that they can go door to door slandering people and destrying reputations.
A friend told me the same kind of story.
There are a lot of people who are angry that there is more to this story and it isn't being told. Why are people allowed to lie in order to get signatures. My friend keeps trying to call someone to have his name removed from the petition.
The telephone number of the person collecting signatures is on the Lopez site. They claim that each person was given that number in case there were any questions. I would simply call that number and ask to be removed before the signatures are turned in.
I would be pissed if I was lied to about cause for recall. I just found the number on the Lopez site. He apparently put the WRONG NUMBER up the first time! Go figure! If you signed and want to be removed, call 508-775-8933.
To the anonymous commentor best known to the rest of us as "comment deleted", this blog is intended to allow people to DISCUSS not DISGUST. I suggest you post your vile and obscene "comments" on your own websites.
I would suggest to people who signed the petition under false pretenses or without understanding what they were signing, that they contact the clerk who certifies the signatures (Linda Hutchenrider) and let her know, then maybe she will not certify those signatures. Thoman is a difficult being to deal with and it is understandable that people would not want to contact her.
How I spen t my summer. While all the other kids will say, "I went to the beach", "I went to camp" or "I spent time with my FAMILY doing fun things" Some poor little child will be forced to say "I drove around neighborhoods, knocking on doors helping my mom spread hate and lies"
To the commenter who cannot write without disgusting filth coming out, you need therapy!! NOW!! The vulgarity and the sexual nature of your comments frightens me. It appears that you are obsessed with sexually deviant thoughts and I sincerely hope you have NO contact with children. I would be far more worried about children being around you. If you came knocking at my door, I would call 911, you are SCARY! Get help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are more and more stories of the kind of lie being told around Joakim's precinct in an attempt to get signatures. People are angry at this whole issue. One woman claimed she was acting as an "agent for Gary Lopez." The woman at home wanted to know if he lived anywhere nearby or if he was in the car with her.
It isn't safe to call this person at home. She is heading to court for harrassment charges again.
Stay away from her lest you become the next victim.
EDITED:
[This comment has been edited to conform to blog rules]
(NOTE: This comment is only the opinion of this particular commenter and does not reflect the opinion of the author of this blog.)
Anonymous said...
Nobody is claiming to be acting as an agent for Lopez. Can't you come up with better lies than that? I preferred the one about the blind old lady!
July 30, 2008 10:17 PM
Eric Schwaab (aka "Bugsy") left the comment @ 5:35PM.
I removed it because it was essentially cut & pasted from the COG site (and his own). These individuals have their own blogs. There is no need to repost extremely large sections of other peoples' blogs here.
Mr. Schwaab's/COG's statement is basically their announcement that they have 275 signatures, which is more than the minimum needed for the recall to proceed to the ballot.
However, I remind them that those signatures have not been CERTIFIED yet, and apparently there are a LOT of people who want OFF that petition... There is also rumors about a possible ruling on the petition based on state law that could be coming from the Town Attorney... This all could get interesting...
Right. So home rule trumps state law when Greg Milne is elected to the charter commission, and state law trumps home rule when Joakim is recalled.
Have you ever watched No Rules Australian football?
If there was an alleged problem with the affidavit petition, Weil would have been obliged to exercise due diligence in delivering that ruling in a timely fashion. After all, we are only talking about two paragraphs.
The reason she is holding that card, if it exists, is because she does not want to look like she is intentionally protecting Joakim before she has to.
Three hundred people want Joakim to go. If the recall organizers are working off a voting list, they are probably getting certifiable signatures. It seems they learned a lesson from the first affidavit that was killed by one signature because a guy did not clarify that he was ''Junior'' rather than his son, who was the third.
I hope Weil does pull a stupid stunt like that. It will galvanize that precinct against Joakim even more. Remember that Joakim only got 276 votes to win her last election, and now 300 people are basically voting to un-elect her.
What does that tell you?
If Weil declares the affidavit null and void after ten days, knowing that petitioners only have ten days to gather signatures, her colors will glow to the entire town. It is called DUE DILLIGENCE, and she did not perform such if this is the case.
If the petition is invalid than the COGGERS should look fondly at their almighty leaders and question the intentions of the entire process.
Time to turn away from the angry basement dwellers and towards the sunshine of a new day.
To the commenter from 11:27 AM -
The reason that no one is talking about the issue that you raised is because it is OFF-LIMITS on this blog. Discussion of the neighborhood spat in Marstons Mills is not allowed here because it ALWAYS gets nasty and ugly from supporters on BOTH sides.
While one of the involved parties is playing a major role in the Joakim recall attempt, discussion about her outside the recall attempt will not be allowed.
Thank you. The less we here about that "WACK JOB" the better.
Post a Comment