Durel Talks Political Sign Limitation Ordinance – Lafayette Live

With local elections on the horizon, campaign signs are once again littering sidewalks and front yards across Lafayette. These signs however, are in violation of a city ordinance that limits the time political signs can be put on display. In response, Lafayette City-Council is considering lifting this limitation.

City-Parish President Joey Durel stopped by 'Nathan and Bernie in the Morning' for his weekly 'Lafayette Live' segment to discuss the sign limit violations.

Currently, a Lafayette ordinance restricts political signs on private property in the city to no earlier than 90 days before an election. This ordinance has largely been ignored and unenforced by candidates.

"Constitutional or non-constitutional you want these people to respect our community standards," said Durel. "The fact that it may be unconstitutional may be reality and may force the hand, but I’d prefer them to file a lawsuit and and prove that it’s unconstitutional."

Durel says regulating sign limitations becomes a sticky situation for politicians in office because it can be viewed as a way for incumbents to gain an unfair advantage over potential challengers in future elections.

"When the incumbents pass laws to prevent potential challengers from doing the exact same thing they did, it becomes hypocritical," explained Durel.

The City-Parish President says the current sign limitation ordinance in question was not the result of politics, but community activism.

"This was not driven by politicians, it was driven by activist in the community who felt it was time to do something about signage," said Durel.

The council will vote on whether or not to lift the political sign ban next Tuesday.

To listen to the full audio from the interview, click the play button below: