As they have done in a couple of recent elections, the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce sponsored a series of videotaped candidate interviews that are now airing on Channel 12 on the Oak Ridge cable system. All City Council and Board of Education candidates are included.
I haven’t seen the video yet (it has already aired twice), but I need to watch it (or tape it) at one of the following broadcast times (you might want to do the same):
Monday, May 14, 8:30 pm
Friday, May 18, 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 19, 7 pm
Tuesday, May 22, 8 pm
Saturday, May 26, 7 pm
Friday, June 1, 7 pm
Saturday, June 2, 7 pm
Monday, June 4, 8:30 pm
ADDED (omitted earlier because it was kind of late at night when I typed the above details): The Chamber of Commerce and BBB-TV deserve our thanks for making this possible, and I thank the Chamber staff for sharing the time schedule.
ADDED May 16: Today’s Oak Ridger has a slightly different version of the schedule for the remaining showings (I suspect this is an updated version):
Friday, May 18, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, May 22, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 26, at 7 p.m.; Monday, May 28, at 9 p.m.; Friday, June 1, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m.; and Monday, June 4, at 8:30 p.m.
Political yard signs are all over town. Some of them have my name on them — they are a necessary part of political campaigning.
Some people like yard signs — they take pride in displaying signs that tell the world who they support, and they want to see their candidates’ names all over town. Many other people think they are ugly clutter. There are a few spots around town where there are so many signs (many for the same candidate or cause) that I expect everyone thinks they are ugly clutter.
The city has an ordinance restricting the display of political signs. Its main effect is to keep signs out of places where they are most likely to distract drivers. (Signs can’t be placed on medians, traffic islands, or within 15 ft of the shoulder on our major streets. City staff say they “harvested” 75 illegal signs from along highways a few days ago — I was pleased to hear that none of those signs had my name on them.)
The ordinance also says campaign signs can’t be displayed until 30 days before the election, which this year is being interpreted to mean 30 days before early voting starts.
Signs in yards are supposed to indicate that the residents support the candidate or cause whose sign they display, but a dirty little secret is that many signs are placed in front of vacant houses and other places where it is highly unlikely that they represent an actual resident’s actual opinion. This year, this is particularly true of “FOR” signs.
Until the last few days, I asked my supporters to place my signs only on private property controlled by someone who supports me (ADDED: or gave permission to place the sign), but now that the election is getting closer we are putting signs out on public rights of way and similar places. My apologies to those of you who consider these to be ugly clutter, but in order to get elected I need to put my name out where people can see it.
Some of the apparently public places where folks see many campaign signs (and where people urge me to place signs) are private property, often controlled by real estate developers who are engaging in political speech by allowing display of signs for candidates they approve of. Thus, for example, all those signs at the triangular intersection of Lafayette and Illinois, across Emory Valley Rd. from the Food Lion, and at various locations on the east Oak Ridge Turnpike reflect the views of R&R Properties and/or the Chinn family.
PS - If you want one of my signs for your yard (I admit that as lawn ornaments go, they are pretty tacky, but I’ve seen worse), please send me an e-mail or phone me (I’m in the book).
Here’s the scoop on voting arrangements for folks in the Roane County part of Oak Ridge:
Early voting will be at the Mall for both Anderson and Roane County residents.
On election day (June 5) all voters in the Roane County portion of the city will vote at the Oak Ridge Country Club on Gum Hollow Road. This includes residents of Rarity Ridge, who normally are assigned to the Lawnville precinct.
Simple, straightforward and sensible. How nice! Thanks to the two county election commissions for arranging things so smoothly.
UPDATED MAY 11th. Early voting is Wednesday, May 16, to Thursday, May 31, 2007, at the Oak Ridge Mall. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays (except for Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, when the voting site will be closed) and 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday, May 19 (the voting site will be closed May 26th).
My guess is that the voting location will be near the corner entrance that formerly led to a now-empty anchor store (the corner entrance that’s between Penney’s and Sears).
Earlier it was reported that Roane County voters would need to go to the Roane County courthouse to vote, but the Anderson County Election Commission website has good news:
Any registered voter who is a resident of Oak Ridge — including those who live in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge — may vote early at the Oak Ridge Mall location.
