StarBulletin.com

Sign-waving tradition returns for House race


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POSTED: Monday, April 05, 2010

Unlike most of the country, it is against the law in Hawaii for politicians to plaster their faces, names and slogans on billboards or utility poles.

So the three major candidates for the May 22 special congressional election here are taking to busy rush-hour intersections—or the sidewalks, actually—to become living ads by waving signs and hoping drivers notice the hoopla.

It is a decades-old, low-cost tradition that has been replicated in few other places in the U.S., at least to the extent that Hawaii politicians do it.

“;I'm not sure if sign waving actually causes anybody to vote for a particular candidate,”; said Honolulu Councilman Charles Djou, a Republican vying for the vacant 1st Congressional District with two well-known Democrats, former U.S. Rep. Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, and 11 other candidates.

“;But I will tell you that people won't vote for a candidate if they don't sign-wave,”; Djou added.

Case said because he is out before dawn, voters can witness a measure of his commitment, character and hard work.

“;It's not the be all and end all, obviously, of a campaign, but it's an important part of it,”; said Case while sign waving along an eastern Honolulu thoroughfare.

The practice has become a must-do for candidates, said Hanabusa.

“;I think that (voters) begin to expect it, and they are not surprised to see it,”; she said while standing in front of her “;Hanabusa for Hawaii”; sign near a busy central Honolulu intersection. Ballots for the all-mail election are due May 22.

The genesis of political sign waving in Hawaii is generally tied to Charles Campbell, a little-known Honolulu City Council candidate who in 1968 persuaded high school students to stand on street corners holding signs on his behalf. Campbell won, and now virtually every candidate believes in sign waving.

As the practice grew in subsequent years, safety and aesthetic concerns rose, leading Maui County and then the state to bar it. But the federal courts overturned the prohibitions, citing freedom of speech.

Hawaii has banned billboards since the late 1920s and since then has prohibited mobile billboards, aerial ads and posters and fliers affixed to utility poles.

So along with residential yard signs, sidewalk sign waving has become about the only outdoor advertising that candidates are permitted. And as the special election for the U.S. House seat grows near, they and their allies are spending more early mornings and late afternoons standing on corners.

“;If I didn't have to do this, I wouldn't,”; said Aileen Kitaoke-Yee, a Case supporter who was out waving one recent afternoon. “;You get to smell all the fumes. (But) I do it for Ed. If it were anybody else, no.”;

Gerald Moura is something of an expert on sign waving, having helped a number of candidates over the years. Now the 69-year-old retired federal worker has created a 10-foot-tall amalgamation of Djou signs featuring a padded armrest.

“;I can see people eye to eye and thank them,”; Moura said.

Sign waving might look fun, but the candidates have learned some lessons: Wear comfortable shoes, smile and use the shoulder-high wave because waving from above your head can quickly tire your arms, they advise.

And above all, said Djou, “;wear sunscreen.”;