It’s a sign of the times, or at least a political sign of the times.  As surely as elections follow campaigns, the newly elected officials see their names on government signs and photos in public buildings as the spoils of victory.

It’s never been more obvious than in the past 10 months as a half dozen different mayors have held city and county offices.  No one has been busier in local government than the sign painters, as name after name has been changed on an array of public signs.

It’s a mystery only known to the vagaries of the political mind exactly why the signs for the Shelby County prison, codes enforcement, public works, and other buildings in the complex on Mullins Station Road have to bear the name of the county mayor.  However, shortly after interim mayor Joe Ford took office, all the paint brushes came out and his name was put on sign after sign.

No Bouquets

But he’s just carrying on tradition.  It’s been happening long before he took office and City of Memphis is no better.

It’s become so expected that a few years ago when the Center City Commission put up signs for downtown sidewalk improvements, they drew praise for the mere fact that they did not bear the names of any elected official.  The Riverfront Development Corporation did the same early on, but with Beale Street Landing, it went back to tradition with much of the construction sign devoted to the names of the Memphis mayor and City Council.

There was a time in county government when there were almost a dozen signs bearing the county mayor’s name on Walnut Grove Road through Shelby Farms.  With his name constantly before them, motorists trapped in rush hour gridlock were so mad at the mayor by the time they got to work, complaint calls climbed.  The number of signs was quickly reduced.

Before Shelby Farms Park Conservancy took over management of the park, it seemed no sign was immune from having the mayor’s name on it.  It reached the level of absurdity when signs outside the fences of the buffalo field said: “American Bison: Jim Rout, Mayor,” later to be replaced by the name of A C Wharton Jr. when he took office.

City Property as Political Property

Back when Dick Hackett was mayor of Memphis, neighborhood watch signs sprung up like mushrooms in neighborhoods all over Memphis, and when he was upset at the polls by Willie W. Herenton a few years later, it produced a massive repainting project to take off the old mayor’s name.

The cost of all this painting and repainting is never known since it’s buried deep in departmental budgets.  But it’s no match to the money spent by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.  His name is absolutely everywhere.   A good time-killer between flights in O’Hare International Airport is to see how many times you can count his name (make sure you have a calculator).

Or maybe it’s just something about airports.  Memphis International Airport not only has a sign with the mayors’ names welcoming visitors to Memphis, but it also posts their professionally photographed, prominently placed portraits; however, it might just be an excuse for Airport Authority members to post their own self-congratulatory photographs.  All in all, is a welcome from two mayors the most important welcome to share with visitors?  Maybe the welcome should be from the people who actually own the airport – Memphis and Shelby County citizens?

Getting It Right

Some places do a better job of getting it right.  Their construction signs don’t have a list of elected and appointed officials, but reflect the obvious: enjoy the street, you’re paying for it.  There are even some with humor like a blinking sign in Austin that announced upcoming road construction: Prepare to be annoyed.

The politics of signs and photos surfaced earlier this year when an email with Wharton’s photo was sent to city managers with instructions to get it “framed and posted prominently.”   The intent, Wharton advisors say, was to get down all Herenton photos, but if that is so, it was a disastrously written email with all the photo framing feeding charges of government waste

With the surge of populism that characterizes today’s political climate, savvy politicians may find it to their advantage to run for office with a pledge that if there are any photos in public buildings, it will be of taxpayers and there’ll be no names of politicians on construction signs.

There’s no place where symbolism matters more than government and politics, but the reality could be that it just could be a vote getter.

This was previously published as the May City Journal column in Memphis magazine.