Editorial: Election build-up goes to devil

Election sign abuse. Colin Craig sign Eleventh Ave and Fraser street corner. Photo / George Novak

It is an inevitable part of any election campaign. Damage to election signs.

Signs have only been up for the past couple of weeks and as more pop up, more damage is likely to happen.

I don't condone the behaviour of those who tamper with election signs, but I must admit, some signs scream out to be messed with.

Colin Craig is one of the latest victims in Tauranga of damage to his signs.

He certainly isn't the first politician and he won't be the last to have grown horns or a beard overnight.

Some people just can't help themselves.

In yesterday's Bay of Plenty Times it was reported that the Conservative Party leader has been depicted with devil horns coming out of his head in a hoarding on 11th Ave and Fraser St.

Mr Craig said there was a range of easy options for defacing photos and devil horns were a perennial favourite.

"I am not the first - and likely not the last - to be given a pair of horns."

Mr Craig said he expected the sign to be replaced some time in the next week, when the party's next billboard run was under way.

During this general election, Tauranga has candidates for nearly all major parties and their hoardings will soon be all around town.

There are pretty strict rules around where these signs can be placed - not within 6m of an intersection or roundabout, not be attached to poles, fences, street furniture or public utilities without council permission.

The council can also make the owner or user of any non-complying sign take it down.

I'm sure a lot of time and effort goes into the planning and placement of hoardings as people try to maximise their profile in the lead up to the election.

There must be a trick to a good eye-catching hoarding, but most of them do seem plain and a bit drab.

Maybe one day politicians will resort to defacing their own signs in a bid to make them stand out and potentially earn themselves some more exposure.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened sooner rather than later.