City takes down protestor's signs

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Story Published: Nov 20, 2009 at 6:26 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 22, 2009 at 9:53 PM MDT

By Jennifer McGraw

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IDAHO FALLS - The campaign against District 91's $84.5 million dollar bond became a heated debate as the city began taking down protestors posted signs.

"Our freedom of speech is being interrupted. It's being taken away from those citizens in the city who actually want to hear the other side of the story," says Dr. Donald Schanz, leader of Vote No campaign.

The Vote No campaign on District 91's bond proposal lined the streets of Idaho Falls four days prior to the election. Many of those signs were taken down by the city the next day.

"These signs, so many of them were put in right of ways and on city property and all of a sudden we received numerous complaints. Is this proper? Is this legal or not? We do have a city ordinance that addresses that issue there," says Knut Meyerin, Idaho Falls Public Information Officer.

The only problem many say...

"It violates free speech of those of us that put our signs in the same spot that some of those city council ones were that took place two weeks ago," says Dr. Schanz.

City law states no sign can be placed on city property without permission and the city said they did take down signs in the municipal election.

"If the city decides they are going to take down signs they do and if they decide to leave them, they leave them. It's the selective enforcement that's the problem. It violates free speech," says Dr. Schanz.

"That's totally false. The complaint that their civil rights or their freedom of speech was violated was totally inaccurate," says Meyerin.

The city said it wasn't the message, they were strictly following city code. But protestors don't buy it. The say the hundreds of signs the city collected during the bond election were nothing in comparison to the few they collected during the city elections.

Any signs posted on city property without permission will be removed and the city would like to be notified if you happen to come across any.

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