Sign flap may force forums to relocate

The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Hays County, a nonpartisan political organization that encourages active voter participation, may have to find a new venue to host debates and forums after their next scheduled debate.

Hours prior to the first of two scheduled league candidate debates in San Marcos Thursday, city officials informed League Candidates Debate Coordinator Jeannie Lewis that all campaign signs posted outside the San Marcos Activity Center for the event would have to be taken down and that candidates will no longer be able to display campaign signs outside during debates on city property.

“The (Assistant) City Attorney Jacqueline Collum called me this afternoon, not long before the debate was to start, and said that Mr. (Ruben) Becerra had a trailer here that was parked out in the parking lot with signs and they had asked him to move it because no campaign signs were allowed on city property,” Lewis said.

According to the city’s Communications Director Kristy Stark, once the city had been notified about Hays County Judge candidate Ruben Becerra’s trailer containing political signs and purportedly receiving complaints from patrons using the Activity Center, City Manager Bert Lumbreras conferred with the city attorney and neighborhood enhancement director. The city attorney’s guidance was that having political signs on city property is not legal.

According to the city attorney, Section 255.003 of the Texas Election Code, and how the Texas Ethics Commission has strictly construed that section, clearly prohibits use of city resources and property for political activity. And the restriction applies to the city, not the candidate, which means the city was required to take action.

According to Lewis, who has coordinated candidate debates and forums in the area for over 30 years, the law has never been enforced by city officials.

“I told her that I had been candidates debate coordinator for 32 years and we’ve always had signs out, just during the debates and then the candidates would remove them right after,” Lewis said.

The city’s decision to not allow campaign signs will also apply to the next scheduled league debate on Oct. 17, according to Stark, and in the meantime, the city is reassessing whether or not future debates or forums may be held on city property at all.

According to Stark, Lumbreras spoke with Lewis Friday morning to apologize for raising the issue late Thursday and to let her know that the city would work with them to proceed to have their next debate within the rented space at the San Marcos Activity Center, along with any tables for candidate information inside the room. But after that, depending on the city’s assessment of the law and its interpretation, the league may have to find non-municipally-owned venues for hosting future debates and forums.

“We have a reputation in this community, the League, of being a very upstanding and nonpartisan organization with the interest of getting information out to the voters and this kind of puts a little strain on that, in a way,” Lewis said.

The next League of Women Voters’ debate, with candidates from the city of San Marcos council races, will be on Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the San Marcos Activity Center.