(UN)RELIABLE SOURCES: 023
SIGN WARS

by FRANK O'DONNELL
JANUARY 27, 2007

I can't get used to it.

Politics in the dead of winter. Candidates ringing our doorbells, leaving flyers in our doors, mailing us postcards, and calling us at dinnertime.

Mix all that in with a dusting of snow and fires crackling in our fireplaces, and it feels so unnatural.

Like it or not, it's here. North Providence's special election is underway.

The mayoral race is the big contest. Because two of the candidates are Democrats, there will be a primary. If you're registered as a Democrat, you've got less than four weeks to make up your minds. So both candidates are out there, campaigning vigorously.

Lombardi versus Sisto.

Johnny versus Charlie.
           
I'm most interested in the Sign War, watching closely as taxpayers, businesses and empty lots declare their allegiance to one or the other.
           
Two weeks ago, I counted the signs on Mineral Spring Avenue, tallying every instance - billboards, plywood-backed signs, and the garden-variety wire-and-cardboard lawn versions. Back then, Sisto had 17% more signage than Lombardi.

This past weekend, I made the trip again. Think of me as the Drive-by Darrell West.

This time, Lombardi was winning the MSA sign war by almost 10%, thanks largely to a 175% increase in signage on local businesses.
           
One side would opine that shows a groundswell of support for its candidate in the business community. The other might argue that it didn't want to bother business owners, putting them in an awkward and polarizing position with their voting customers.

I'm no scientist, so I don't know what any of this means, except that apparently, I've got a little too much free time on my hands over the weekend.

I kept track as I ran my Saturday errands along our main thoroughfares. Counting only Smith Street, Douglas Avenue, Lexington Avenue, Woodward Road and of course, Mineral Spring Avenue, Sisto enjoyed a comfortable 56% signage lead overall.

These numbers are accurate only for last Saturday, and have likely changed since.

The margin for error in this survey is unbelievably high and statistically unacceptable.

The numbers include two huge billboards - one on MSA, the other on Smith Street - showing a smiling Mr. Sisto wearing a simple suit and tie.

As I write this, it's 17 degrees outside. Should Mr. Sisto win this election, we don't want him pulling a William Henry Harrison on us. Someone please get Johnny an overcoat. At least tell me he's got his mundandi on underneath that suit.

My hat goes off to three folks on these sampled streets who have both Lombardi and Sisto signs on their lawns. They've taken a page out of my book - all things to all candidates. Although on one lawn, the Sisto sign was bigger. But this is politics - size doesn't matter, does it?

While we're at it, a couple of notes to all candidates on sign placement, both for this and future elections.

You shouldn't put your sign on the same lawn as a "For Sale" sign. Is this the message you want to be sending? "Vote for So & So - For Sale."

Neither should you put them on houses with signs that say "For Rent," nor on vacant businesses with "For Lease" signs.

You shouldn't put your signs out of town - even if they're just a couple of hundred feet from the North Providence line. You'll find signs for either or both candidates in our contiguous neighboring communities of Pawtucket, Providence, Johnston, Smithfield and Lincoln. We don't mess in their elections - they shouldn't mess in ours.

One oddity. I didn't see a single sign at the town's busiest intersection - Douglas and Mineral Spring. How did that prime bit of real estate escape the sign barrage?

Could it be that the candidates are battling behind the scenes to use Rizzo Ford as their campaign headquarters?

Stay tuned…

MY BAD

In my column two weeks ago, I mistakenly identified the president pro-tem of the town council, switching his name with that of the second president pro-tem. I heartily apologize. I guess I got my notes mixed up because I was chuckling so hard over the fact that we have three presidents on a seven-member town council.

Also, I reported the wrong date for the special election. It will not be held on April 10, but on April 17 - 105 days from the date on which the mayor's office was vacated, creating the need for the special election. Luckily, there are no holiday-style conflicts. Of course, the date does fall in the middle of school vacation week, so half the electorate will be in Florida. I wonder if there's still time to get an absentee ballot?

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