dont signs have to be marked?

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dont all campaign signs have to be marked with the treasurer, po box, etc. ? to my understanding, they do. yet when i look out at all of the stickers, lawn signs, and regular signs of such people as gutierrez bordallo and ted nelson, there is nothing of the kind. isnt it the election comissions job to make sure rules are followed? dont candidates get fined for not following the rules? is the 98 gang getting fined? not in this lifetime!

-- jenn (hibiscusangel@hotmail.com), October 07, 1998

Answers

Jenn.... According to the Guam Election Commission, if a sign is on private property, such as little lawn signs, it can say whatever the owner wants it to say.

-- Eloise (Elfin9@Yahoo.com), October 08, 1998.

Of course there are rules and regs, but they're so petty. Maybe we can put up a sign in our yard saying anything we want huh? The lawbreaking on this one has been by almost all the candidates.

-- The Guam News (guamnews@hotmail.com), October 08, 1998.

If anyone knows of a rule or law violation, you should report it to the election commission. If you're not sure if it's a violation, call them and ask. It's 477-9791/2/3. It's the commission's job to follow up on reported violations. I don't think they have the staff to check each sign, although if the thing you're asking about is actaully a violation, I would think it would be obvious to them.

-- Lighthouse (lighthouse1999@yahoo.com), October 08, 1998.

Having laws is one thing, enforcing them is another. There seem to be two pairs of things that never get thought out as pairs.. one some laws created but no means or money to enforce them, and the other (Agana Heights Mayor brought this up a few days ago) is the appropriating of money for certain things but lack a funding source. Both are like betting without chips....

-- Toming (TomingGuam@aol.com), October 09, 1998.

Toming,

Good point about the lack of funding impeding enforcement of the laws. Ask the public auditor how he can thoroughly audit the government when the governor and the legislature only appopriate a fraction of what he needs to enforce the laws. The governor requests a tiny amount for the auditor, the legislature grants it.

Seems like officials are intentionally keeping the public from seeing how money is spent. And yet no one speaks out about it. Wonder if that elected public auditor postition will ever come about. Wonder if the governor would sign such a law. You take a guess.

-- Lighthouse (lighthouse1999@yahoo.com), October 09, 1998.



i asked the guam elections comission, and this is exactly what they replied with:

In response to your inquiry, please be advised that this issue was addressed at the Commission's October 8, 1998 Board meeting. Although the statute that requires this seems broad and unclear, the Commission Board agreed to concentrate on this issue after the General Election where extensive reviews will be made with the Commission's Legal Counsel.

-- jenn (again) (hibiscusangel@hotmail.com), October 10, 1998.


Nice response. It'll do a lot of good to research this law after the election, when everybody is taking their signs down already. It seems to me that the election commission isn't new to campaign signs. Over the years you'd think the commission would've researched this law and figured out exactly what it is supposed to do. Pretty lame.

-- Lighthouse (lighthouse1999@yahoo.com), October 10, 1998.

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