2020 Redux: Right wing candidate in Maryland Primary Flouts Well-Known Law on Posting of Campaign signs on public property and public rights of way.

 

Two years ago, a Board of Education Candidate with deep ties to the extreme right-wing (see here) plastered illegal campaign signs all over Montgomery County.  Briefly, campaign signs may not be placed on public rights of way or on private property without permission.  They certainly may not be placed on public land.  The Montgomery County Government eventually forced the candidate to remove the signs under threat of significant fines. See here.  

Now the campaign of Dan Cox, the Trump-endorsed candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, is engaging in the same sort of illegal activity.  This afternoon, I saw and documented such illegal signs in Olney.  Pictured here are signs heading north on Georgia Avenue from the intersection at Norbeck Road (on property that is not privately owned) (pictured above) and in the public medium strips at the intersections with Cherry Valley Road, King William Road, and across from the  Fire House (pictured below).

In 2020, this Guest Commentary in Maryland Matters noted the significance of this  flouting of the law:

"Anyone running for office in Montgomery County, even relative newcomers like Mr. Austin, should know that such postings are illegal.

"But there may be a deeper significance to Mr. Austin’s flouting of Montgomery County rules. He may be signaling his contempt for the political norms that have allowed Montgomery County to thrive as one of the most diverse counties in America.

"Using language that has been invoked since the 1950s to maintain segregation, Austin has led a campaign of lies and misinformation. In an attempt to block a much-needed study of Montgomery County’s school boundaries, he and his supporters have intimidated school officials, shut down a community meeting, and mocked and bullied high school students who object to the current boundaries as enforcers of racial and economic segregation.

"The question for county residents is whether they will see his tactics for what they are and reject his attempts to sow fear and division."

County residents did, in fact, reject those attempts.  The offending candidate received only 13% of the votes. See here.

Mr. Cox's offenses against large swaths of our communities include attacks on the validity of the 2020 presidential election, LGBTQ+ student rights,  and the teaching of facts about the legacy's of slavery, are legion.  As an attorney licensed in the State of Maryland, he surely knows that his campaign's actions are illegal.  His disregard for law is similar to that of his main supporter, Donald Trump.  We countenance such offenses at our peril.    

(Anyone seeing such signs elsewhere in Montgomery County should report them to Victor Salazar, Program Manager II, DPS – Zoning & Site Plan Enforcement, at Victor.Salazar@montgomerycountymd.gov and should file a complaint at https://permittingservices.montgomerycountymd.gov/dps/online/eComplaint.aspx)

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