Barrie receiving limited complaints over election

By RAYMOND BOWE BARRIE EXAMINER September 28 2010
City officials have received 13 complaints about election signs being placed in prohibited areas. Those complaints are being investigated and municipal law enforcement staff also have their eyes peeled for other rule breakers.
“So far, it’s been fairly quiet,” said City Clerk Dawn McAlpine, adding it’s also early in the campaign. “Obviously, people are recognizing the requirements of the bylaw and are complying.”
Municipal elections will be held Oct. 25.
Each candidate is given a copy of the city’s election sign bylaw when they register.
Signs cannot be placed on, or overhanging, public property, including utility poles or light standards.
“It’s sometimes challenging for candidates and residents when they don’t have a sidewalk to know whether or not they’re placing them on city property,” McAlpine said. “But, in most cases, they’re well within private property.”
An election sign is defined as any advertisement promoting a candidate, which is intended to influence people to vote for or against a specific person.
Election signs cannot be located at or within 50 metres of a polling station, nor can they include specific words (stop, danger, one way) that could interfere, mislead or confuse traffic.
There are also limits to the size and number of signs a candidate can place, such as no more than two per candidate on a piece of property zoned residential, or three per candidate on a parcel of land with another zoning classification.
Anyone who wants to file a complaint about election signs can call the city’s municipal law enforcement office at 739-4241.
“They will definitely respond to complaints,” McAlpine said, adding bylaw officers are also looking for infractions around the city. “But I don’t think it’s been as challenging as it has been in past years.”