Why You Can’t Trust Political Signs (and why you don’t see many of mine)

As you drive through Hancock County, you won’t see a plethora of signs that have the name “Vandgrift” on them, and I wanted to let you know that this is a ‘purposeful‘ strategy in my campaign.  You’ll see a few of my signs sprinkled around, but you’ll also notice an overwhelming number of signs for the other candidates when you travel around Hancock County. 

While a deficit of ‘Vandgrift’ signs may look disappointing, there are several reasons I’ve not invested heavily in signage, and I wanted to share a few of those reasons with you.  My hope is that it’ll help you immensely when it comes to deciding who you’ll vote for (in all political categories, not just Sheriff).  So…here we go: 

#1. Signs can be Misleading…

While a sign DOES help with ‘Brand Awareness’, the very presence of a sign on someone’s property doesn’t mean that the landowner ‘supports’ that candidate or will be voting for them. The truth is, a good portion of people will graciously let you put a sign in their yard if you ask them kindly (and some won’t take one down even if you don’t ask).

I’ve visited a number of homes while campaigning who have signs for various political candidates placed in their yard…and several have been very clear that they’re not going to vote for that specific candidate (they just allowed them to put a sign up because the candidate asked and they didn’t want to be rude).  

I’ve also spoke to several folks around the county who were pretty upset that a sign was placed on their property without asking for permission… 

When I stopped by one gentleman’s house a few months back, he walked up to my vehicle and shortly after my introduction he asked: “Are you here to put a sign in my yard?”… in which I replied: ‘no sir…I’m just here to talk to you‘.  After a good visit, and just as I was leaving, he said ‘Hey follow me for a moment…I want to show you something I think you’ll get a kick out of‘, then he lead me over to his pole barn and pulled the keys from his pocket. When he opened the door, there were about 5-6 different signs from several different political candidates leaned up against the wall (two from one specific political candidate).  He grinned widely and said “Not one of these guys stopped to talk to me about anything, or even asked permission to put a sign in my yard…they just assumed that since they knew me that they could put one out“.  

So…with that said, unless you talk directly to the property owner, you simply can’t trust that the placement of a sign is an endorsement by the person who owns the property.

Also…please know that I don’t ask many folks whether I can put a sign out – My family and I have only asked a handful of folks we know pretty well, and the rest have been requested on this website (here) or through Facebook.

#2 Signs don’t talk, and they provide limited information…

I personally felt when starting this journey that there are better and more effective ways to Communicate and to go about Campaigning than to put a lot of money into Signage that gives ‘limited information’…So I have been purposefully investing in THOSE methods rather than in signage.  Some of those ways include:

• Door-to-Door Conversations (most important) that give voters an opportunity to ask important questions and gauge the candidates’ genuineness and ability to connect with the community
• An Interactive Website (this one), where an unlimited number of topics can be discussed and ideas be presented…and where the Candidate can be Contacted for questions a voter may have. 
• Social Media Campaigns which can share important (and limitless) information, and wherein people can interact with the content being presented (you can’t interact with a sign, no matter how much you try). 

While I find these methods more effective at communicating, I ALSO find it an effective tool for ACCOUNTABILITY purposes.  When I’m elected, I have essentially publicly recorded the items that I’ll be focusing on ‘right here’ – and you (the voter) can then hold me accountable for addressing those issues.  Signs can’t do that. 

#3. Signs are Pricy…and that money comes from somewhere. 

While they look to be inexpensive, and while they do help with ‘Brand Awareness’, the cost of Signage can add up pretty quick. The average 24″ plastic yard sign can cost between $3.50 and $8 per sign (depending on the vendor and any specials they are running). When you add the cost of the metal ‘H-stakes’, shipping charges, and other fees to the mix, you end up with a lot of capital tied up into something that gives limited information.  The canvas banners are even more costly, averaging between $79-$99 a piece to start.

While I don’t think it’s a bad idea to put a few out here and there for Name/Brand Recognition, budgeting heavy on signs can require a lot of capital… and for most people, that means one has to ‘Fundraise’ or take donations from family, friends, local business owners, etc…. and in this day and time, that can be problematic when trying to build trust with the community.

When I started this campaign, I had a desire to show folks that I can be “Fiscally Conservative” with this campaign while still being equally effective… a method I plan on bringing to the Sheriff’s Department if you will allow me to serve in such a role. 

And above being Fiscally Conservative, I didn’t want to take donations from anyone – specifically in the Primary Election – so that (a.) I could not be accused of being ‘bought’ or ‘owing favors’ later down the road as your Sheriff, and (b.) I didn’t want to burden anyone else with the financial responsibility of this campaign. 

So if you don’t see my signs… it’s not necessarily because I’m ‘cheap’… but it’s because I’m trying to make a point, and I’m investing my time and money in more effective means of communication (see #2 above).  

With this said…. let me encourage you to do the following: 

We’re getting down to the final 9 DAYS of the election (as of this writing), and I want to encourage you to do a few things: 

1. Pay little attention to the Signs, and MORE attention to the information you can find about the individuals running.
2. Consider what each candidate brings to the table.
3. Research what issues and topics are important to each candidate, and see what their plans are for each issue/topic (and whether they’ve had the opportunity to implement actions or address any such issues in the past). 
4. Contact the candidate if you have questions that you’d like to have answered before you make a decision (you can contact me by clicking here).
5. Consider the ‘Character’ of the folks running, and ask around if you don’t know candidates personally. The Character of a person is of greatest importance in my book, and I hope it is in yours.

Thanks,

Josh Vandgrift