Officials say ordering the Kerry-Edwards sign removed had to do with its large size, not President Bush's visit.
By JADE JACKSON LLOYD
Published October 24, 2004
ST. PETE BEACH - The small, beige house at 3610 Gulf Blvd. boasts good tenants on a quiet stretch of the bustling thoroughfare. There, a Republican and a Democrat live in peace, never giving city officials a reason to really pay attention.
Until now.
On Wednesday, it wasn't the political division inside the house that drew the city's focus, but the massive election sign outside it.
A 4-by-8 foot John Kerry-John Edwards placard, placed perpendicular to the house and highly visible to cars both coming and going, was up only one day in the house's front yard when the city's code enforcement officials came calling.
Take down the sign by Friday, or face a fine of $50 or $100 per day, they said.
Property owner Norma Robinson, a Gulfport water exercise teacher, complied, enlisting people from the Kerry-Edwards campaign's Largo headquarters to have the sign removed. A registered Democrat who considers herself independent, Robinson did as she was told.
Then, she weighed the politics.
Would this have been an issue had the sign been pro-Bush? And would the Friday deadline have been imposed if President Bush wasn't scheduled for a Friday night stay at the Don CeSar, a hotel three blocks away that nearly shadows the property?
Robinson, 56, thinks not.
"I really wonder if someone had put a Bush sign up, if they would've been given quite the same hassle," she said Friday. "Do I have empirical evidence? No, I don't. In my gut, I feel it was politically motivated."
City officials say otherwise.
Rick Smith, the code enforcement officer who knocked on Robinson's door, said enforcing city code was at issue, not political agendas.
"The impetus for the request for the removal of the sign is it's a prohibitive sign for a residential property," he said. "There's no problem with replacing it with a sign that's 3 square feet or less."
Section 26.26 of the city's sign ordinance dictates that election signs in residential areas may not exceed 3 square feet in sign area. If it is freestanding, it cannot exceed 3 feet in height.
In commercial areas, signs may not exceed 12 square feet in area. Freestanding signs may not be taller than 6 feet.
City Manager Mike Bonfield agreed the sign had nothing to do with Bush's visit.
"It just didn't follow the ordinance," he said.
Robinson said officials from the Kerry-Edwards headquarters asked her permission to display the sign. She had no idea how large it would be until her tenant called, fearing vandals would deface the sign and the vehicles out front.
One tenant, a Democrat, was even worried her Bush-supporting boss would fire her over the sign. All in all, the sign caused much more of a headache than the tenants or Robinson anticipated.
"I wasn't looking for a mini billboard," Robinson said. "I had not seen the sign beforehand so I had no frame of reference."
Tara Klimek, spokeswoman for Florida Victory 2004, an organization that works to get Democratic candidates elected, said larger signs are typically used for events.
"I wouldn't be able to tell you how a sign that large ended up in her front yard," she said Friday.
Even though the Largo office delivered the sign to Robinson's property, Klimek seemed to take no responsibility for the incident.
"We're happy we have supporters," she said. "We encourage them to show their support as long as it's within the laws of the city and state."
The sign got taken from the house to Beach Cyclist Sports, a business owned by Leonard Stamos, 58.
Stamos said it's "not fair for the city to tell you you can't have a political sign in your yard, during a political campaign."
