Property owners in Las Cruces who put up campaign signs for Republican Land Commissioner Pat Lyons last week are in violation of an ordinance and will have to take them down, the city says.
At issue is a city ordinance that prohibits the erecting of campaign signs until 90 days before an election. That would be Aug. 9 for the November general election. Doña Ana County, Sunland Park and Hatch also allow signs 90 days before elections. Mesilla allows them 30 days before elections.
Lyon’s campaign put up two large signs on Roadrunner Parkway and Telshor Boulevard and several other signs at locations around Las Cruces last week. The signs are on private property.
The signs were also put up in Ruidoso, despite a similar ordinance there.
The Lyons’ campaign will discuss the situation, said its campaign manager, Kristin Haase.
Hoyt Clifton with the secretary of state’s office said no state law deals with campaign signs, but city ordinances do apply to private property, unless the ordinances specifically exempt private property.
Las Cruces’ ordinance provides no such exemption.
City Manager Terrence Moore said the legal department researched the issue before concluding Monday that the signs must come down until Aug. 9.
“We are simply proceeding with applicable code enforcement,” Moore said. “If they’re not cooperative, we’ll take the next step. … Hopefully, we’ll have cooperation.”
If property owners don’t cooperate, Moore said, the city can remove signs if they impede traffic, but will otherwise issue citations. The maximum fine is $500. Moore said problems like this are rare and property owners are usually compliant.
Incumbent Lyons faces Democrat Jim Baca in the November election. The race could be the closest of all statewide races this year.
It’s fair to note that there are a few small campaign signs that were never taken down after the primary election in Las Cruces, including a sign for Baca near the East Mesa campus of the Doña Ana Community College of NMSU. Those signs also violate the city’s ordinance.
A previous version of this posting incorrectly said the city would remove all campaign signs if property owners refused.
Property owners in