Despite a local blogger’s complaints, a local attorney said Monday that some political signs are permitted within city buildings.
While Isthmus blogger David Blaska denounced signs displayed in the windows of the City County and Madison Municipal buildings Sunday and staged a protest Monday morning in response, City Attorney Michael May said the only signs that are not explicitly allowed are signs that clearly advocate for election of a person. He said other signs like pro-union ones require a balancing of interests but do not break any laws.
Blaska said in a Sunday evening blog post many of the signs in the windows displayed opposition to Gov. Scott Walker and at least one voiced its support for Supreme Court nominee JoAnn Kloppenburg. The two buildings are located near Capitol Square.
Blaska, along with former Ald. Dorothy Borchardt, said the signs were unprofessional and blatantly political.
“We ask only that our local seats of government present a neutral face to the public it serves,” Blaska said in the blog post. “If it is permissible to display one side of an argument on government property than [sic] it is imperative it displays both sides.”
Borchardt emailed Madison Police Chief Noble Wray Friday morning asking him to remove the signs. She said the signs were against the buildings’ policies and the police department is in charge of enforcing the policies and operating rules.
“Some statements were made that all signs are illegal, and that’s just not the case,” May said.
May said no city ordinance exists that governs the signage beside ones that advocate for elections. He said the pro-union signs could be in violation of the city’s ethics codes and would be enforced by a complaint in front of the ethics board or its supervisor.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said Blaska, Borchardt and others posted signs in the building today that were taken down in about five minutes by Madison police.
Blaska’s blog post did not describe his own signs but said “if the (previously placed) signs remain in place Monday we will make our own political statement on those premises.”
Verveer, a member of the committee that manages the City Council building, said the political demonstration might have been motivated by the April 5 elections, since the City Council building served as a location for absentee or early voting until Monday night.
The signs have been displayed for more than a month in the windows of both the City Council building and the Municipal building across the street, Verveer said. He said Friday was the first he heard of any complaints and he found it odd Blaska’s grievances with the signs were voiced right before the election.
Throughout Blaska’s blog post, he said displaying the politicized signs was illegal.
Verveer said signs supporting Kloppenburg and denouncing Walker are “clearly inappropriate,” but other signs like pro-union ones fall into a legal gray area.
May emailed city employees Monday morning, citing the city’s ethics codes and reminding staff that signs related to a specific candidate are illegal and must be removed immediately, Verveer said.
Madison Police Department representatives, the city attorney and the city’s human resources department began a series of meetings Monday in which they will determine how to combat the signage issue, Verveer said.
