Winning candidates in the Upper Cumberland beginning the process of removing election signs from roadsides and private properties following the conclusion of the recent campaign season.
Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said state law requires all campaign signs to be removed within three weeks of an election, though local regulations can be more restrictive. Porter said the city of Cookeville maintains a different standard, requiring all signs within the city limits to be taken down within 14 days.
“We were out this, this weekend, Friday and Saturday taking them down and, and thinking about how fortunate we are,” Porter said, “If you were fortunate enough to, to win the election like I was, it was it was fun going out and taking them down.”
Porter said while the process is a chore, it serves as the final act of a long campaign.
Overton County Sheriff John Garrett said he begins removing signs from public rights-of-way within a few days of the election. Garrett said he intentionally limited the number of signs he placed along roadsides to approximately 100 or fewer to make the retrieval process more manageable.
“Now my big, bigger signs like the four-by-fours that’s got the little thank you placards on them, I will leave those up for about a week after election day is over with,” John Garrett said. “And then we’ll start taking those down because we, we really want to, you know, get our thank yous out there to folks and, and they’ve been looking at this sign for months. So I want to put a little thank you on it and, and let the voters see that.”
Garrett said a first-time candidate can expect to spend between $3,000 and $5,000 on campaign signs. Garrett said most candidates are responsible about retrieval, and he has never had to use his authority as sheriff to legally enforce sign removal laws.
“I was going by and just picking them up and some folks would contact me and say hey I wanted to keep that sign for next time,” John Garrett said. “So unless they contact me and say hey come back and get the sign that I have in my yard for you then I I typically just leave those signs out there.”
Garrett said residents who want a yard sign removed can contact his reelection Facebook page to request a pickup.
