MAPLETON — A mayoral candidate says revisions to the city sign ordinance support his interpretation of the law, allowing him to put up campaign signs immediately after the filing deadline of July 15.
City Councilman Brian Wall put up his mayoral campaign signs in July although the ordinance said they couldn't go up until 60 days before the election, which would have been in early September.
But Wall interpreted the ordinance to mean they could go up 60 days before the primary Sept. 15, even though Mapleton isn't having a primary.
The City Council voted last week to change the ordinance, allowing political signs after the filing deadline and requiring them to be removed within five days after the election.
The revisions passed by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Ben Christensen dissenting.
Wall, who voted for the revised ordinance, previously told the Deseret News he would recuse himself from council action if it affected his signs. The revamped ordinance won't go into effect in time to impact this year's municipal election.
City code enforcer Cory Branch said he won't cite Wall for putting up his signs before September.
At an earlier council meeting, candidate April Clawson complained about Wall's signs and suggested he be given a misdemeanor citation. Mayor Laurel Brady, who is running for re-election, said she wouldn't put up her signs until September because that was the intent of the ordinance.
Meanwhile, the ordinance covering political signs posted on the city's Web site was outdated and did not reflect changes made in April. The out-of-date ordinance led to confusion among candidates, along with an attorney who called the ordinance unconstitutional in an e-mail to the Deseret News.
Brian M. Bernard, legal counsel for the Utah Civil Rights and Liberties Foundation, said the duration and bond requirements in the ordinance violated free-speech provisions in both the U.S. Constitution and the Utah Constitution.
Those requirements were removed in April.
"That was just dumb luck on our part," Wall said.
e-mail: rodger@desnews.com