Update: Wichita, you don’t have to let Kris Kobach put signs in your yard | Opinion
The Wichita City Council stood up to Attorney General Kris Kobach when it comes to signs being placed in the public right-of-way along city streets.
On Tuesday, to comply with state law, the council approved a measure that will allow signs to be placed in the right-of-way for 45 days before an election and during the period between primary and general elections — a period from roughly the middle of June to the first week of November.
But council members dumped a section of the proposed ordinance that would have let anyone who wants to put any sign they want to in front of your house — as recommended in a letter to city government by the attorney general’s office.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, both Mayor Brandon Whipple and council member Bryan Frye commented that allowing third parties to plant an unlimited number of signs in front of people’s homes and businesses, with neither consent nor payment, would be a pretty horrible idea.
“I maintain a public right-of-way at my house between the street and the sidewalk, that is defined as public right-of-way,” said Frye. “So this would allow anyone to put any type of sign in that area that I maintain, regardless of whether or not I agree with that sign, or endorse that sign? . . . I guess I’m having struggle with . . . I could have an opponent’s sign, or a position on something that I don’t agree with, in the yard that I maintain where it looks like I endorse that. And I have no means to counter that.”
And Whipple: “Your yard shouldn’t get hijacked because of this (election season) loophole that currently exists (in state law), that again would allow anyone to utilize your right of way that is on the other side of the sidewalk for whatever political or non-political messaging they would like.”
The suggestion that the city allow anyone to put their signs in front of anyone else’s house originates from an attorney general’s opinion requested by Rep. Blake Carpenter, R-Derby.
That opinion, issued by Kobach’s predecessor Derek Schmidt, was provided as an attachment to a letter threatening legal action by Kobach if the city didn’t change its ordinance.
“For example, a local jurisdiction could elect to enforce no local sign regulations at all or could enforce regulations that do not regulate the placement of or the number of any signs, regardless of content (during election periods),” the opinion said.
Whipple moved and Frye seconded the motion to remove the anything-goes language from the proposed city ordinance.
Now, the rule will be that a property owner can put out signs during the election period, but they can’t be forced by the state to host other people’s signs. That seems fair.
Bear in mind, these don’t have to be political signs. They can advertise for anything; Assistant City Attorney Sharon Dickgrafe used the example of a nail salon.
“If you start talking about political signs can do this, but the nail salon can’t, at that point it’s (regulation based on) content and it’s unconstitutional, in my opinion,” Dickgrafe said.
So, three observations here:
1) If Brandon Whipple and Bryan Frye look at something and agree it’s messed up, it probably is, because that doesn’t happen often.
2) Blake Carpenter should apply a little more work to the state law in Topeka, so it’s not so potentially onerous for property owners.
3) Council member Brandon Johnson hit it solidly when he said “For the record, I would love to see our Legislature and attorney general do a little more for things that actually help people and not focus on yard signs.”
Will what the council did Tuesday satisfy Kobach’s demands? Who knows?
Dickgrafe acknowledged that the ordinance the council passed is “more liberal” than state law when it comes to sign placement.
But the attorney general might want to step lightly on this one.
I’m pretty sure there are a lot of people out there with a lot of signs they’d like to plant in front of Kobach’s house.
This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 5:27 AM.
