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Five candidates running on the Democratic ticket in Bedford announced recently that they will not use lawn signs to promote themselves because they "contribute to our country's waste problem, and in many instances post safety hazards by distracting drivers and obstructing their line of sight," according to the announcement.
"Bedford is a glorious town," said Town Board Member Chris Burdick, who is running for town supervisor this fall. "Its natural beauty is one of its hallmarks. Lawn signs mar that beauty. As we mentioned in our letter, they're also environmentally unfriendly. We feel this is the right decision keeping with Bedford's traditions."
The lawn signs have become more popular in recent years in small towns to boost name recognition for voters heading to the poles. But Meredith Black, who sits on Bedford's Zoning Board of Appeals and is running for Town Board, said candidates shouldn't need to rely on lawn signs to get people to remember their names.
"I think it's more important that people meet the candidates face to face and not just see their names on a piece of paper somewhere," Black said. "I think it could be more of a challenge, but at the same time I think it means that we need to get out there and meet people and let them get to know us as candidates and really know who they're voting for."
Simone Shapiro, who's running for town clerk, said it was a matter of giving the people what they want.
"It's visual pollution and we know the residents of Bedford don't want to see hundreds of lawn signs cluttering the town," Shapiro said. "We've talked to residents during a listening tour and people told us they're fed up with overkill on this election. They don't want to see them all over town and neither do we."
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