While driving through parts of six states last month (GA, MD, DE, PA, IL and WI), I was surprised to find that in the countryside there were few or no campaign signs.

The leaves were turning and the forests and farms were beautiful. Returning to Whidbey Island, I realized that our county’s roads have been visually polluted by thousands of campaign signs.

We enjoy fall colors, but not the garish campaign signs that are everywhere. Campaign signs begin to appear in the spring and proliferate into late fall – longer than the Major League Baseball season.

They collectively use a lot of resources and energy, are unsightly, and, at the end of the season, provide several tons of non-recycled waste for the landfills.

These signs provide the name of a candidate, party affiliation and no more: do they really convey meaningful information about the candidate’s platform or experience?

It is time to establish limits for the number of signs, their size, and length of time allowed before an election.

Grant Heiken

Freeland