Halfmoon Officials Accused of Selective Sign Code Enforcement

In Halfmoon, NY, local political candidate Deanna Stephenson has accused town officials of selectively targeting trailer ads she purchased from MovinAds (Clifton Park, NY). The Times Union reported that a local ordinance prohibits mobile signs. MovinAds proprietor Robert Potter says he was pulled over while delivering the sign due to the ad’s content, which is political. He neither lives nor votes in the town, and told the Times Union he has never been pulled over while driving with a trailer sign in the town before.

Halfmoon’s planning-board chairperson, Steve Watts, a political ally of Stephenson’s incumbent competitor, Melinda Wormuth, isn’t among a town code enforcement officer. He doesn’t issue citations, but told the Times Union he sometimes speaks with code violators. He issued Stephenson a warning in September for posting signs more than 60 days before the election, which also violates the town’s code. In addition, town officials visited and photographed a block party Stephenson sponsored. Wormuth says the visit was prompted by a complaint from a resident.

Still, the Times Union noted, “Around town, there are numerous sign-code violations visible at any given time. For instance, property owners may not put up more than one political sign per candidate on a single parcel. But many property owners have multiple signs for the same candidate on single parcels.”