Political signs suck.
I believe that to be true, and I’m quite certain candidates believe it to be true, too.
Let’s say, for example, you’re Diane Dixon, the Newport Republican running for supervisor. You only have so many dollars to put into an election. Like, there is a limit. So you budget X for campaign workers, X for mailers, X for events, X for signs and X for free botox for your most devoted supporters. Then you have people put them all over the place, and before long they blend in with alllllll the other signage. You hope yours are good (I will say—Dixon doesn’t have my vote, but her signs are solid), but even if they are good—how does it help you? What does it actually add to your efforts?
Put different: You feel naked without signs, but invisible with them.
That being said …
Earlier today my wife sent me a text featuring the signage of an Irvine City Council candidate named Kathleen Treseder. She wrote: “You asked what makes a good political sign. This is original. [My Friend] sent them and said she’s got her vote.”
Indeed.
I don’t know if Treseder will win or lose. She’s an incumbent member of the Irvine City Council; a real-deal environmentalist who serves as the Howard A. Schneiderman Endowed Chair and Professor of Biology at University of California Irvine. She’s smart and accomplished and a 180 from the wackadoos who take up far too much space in the local political spehere.
And, right now, you’re reading about her because she was wise and creative and put animals on her signs.
Well played, Dr. Treseder.
Well played.
PS: You can donate to her campaign here. She’s clearly a good egg. And anyone who loves dogs and cats this much can’t be bad.
Taking digs at your buddy K Foley's opponent - who takes money from AIPAC - well played. Just don't show the connection between Foley and the funding targeting Dave Min during the 2024 primaries.
Signs on public spaces should disqualifying a candidate. Littering the spaaces with visual clutter that signify nothing are a waste. The purpose of a yard sign is to signal support by the property owner. For example, if I see a sign for a school board candidate on the same lawn as a Trump sign, I would know NOT to vote for that person.