This is an excerpt of a column I wrote for Friday’s edition of Dome Magazine:

By Chad Selweski

The days when some voters scan their ballot in the election booth, conclude “that guy sounds familiar,” and plunk down a vote for a candidate-in-name-only may soon be fading.  Increasingly, political consultants and veteran campaign managers tell their clients—their candidates—to stop spending so much money on campaign signs which often have relatively little impact on their election race.

A few decades ago, campaign signs poked into the ground on residential lawns and hammered into place outside of a business were viewed as a cheap and efficient method of quickly boosting a candidate’s name identification. The number of signs deployed was often declared as a measurement of a contender’s strength.

But the axiom “signs don’t vote” started to take hold among political pros more than a decade ago.  In 2016, political consultants routinely wrestle with their candidate as the manager makes the case that signs should constitute only a small portion of their campaign budget – not more than 10 percent.

Joe DiSano of Lansing-based DiSano Strategies jokes that he would like to include a clause in every client’s campaign contract that says the candidate cannot discuss sign usage.  “It provides an initial burst of name ID, but it’s like a ‘sugar high’ – it quickly fades,” DiSano said.

Any sweaty, worn-out candidate plodding from one house to the next in the summer heat—if he or she is worth their salt—knows that door-to-door campaigning is the ultimate means of winning an election. Mailed campaign literature is a close second. Signs are no substitute. 

Yet, the political pros offer horror stories about candidates who want a wealth of signs and billboards deployed so he or she can see their name, in large text, spread throughout the community. A large photo of the candidate included on each placard – a questionable practice in many cases – is a frequent demand. In some cases, the candidate’s anxiety-ridden spouse insists on more roadside signs. Supporters, and especially campaign contributors, expect to see their candidate’s name displayed prominently.

“The candidate’s biggest opponent is not a name on the ballot, it’s the candidate’s own ego,” said former state representative Leon Drolet who, for a third separate time, appears to again be on his way to winning a seat on the Macomb County Board of Commissioners after a victory in the Aug. 2 primary. “Candidates want to drive around and see their name all over the place.”

Continue reading here.

Photo: lowcostsigns.com