Many people in the southwest Wyoming city of Rock Springs are riled up about a new city ordinance prohibiting temporary yard signs in public spaces around the city, including political signs, as the 2024 election season hits full speed.
The ordinance prohibits the flood of local candidates seeking election from putting up their signs for the upcoming Aug. 20 primary in public rights of way and spaces anytime before June 20.
But some are complaining that candidates and campaigns are ignoring the rule, and that inconsistent enforcement from the city is allowing them to keep their illegal signs up, which is frustrating both local Democrats and Republicans.
The ordinance has no impact on yard signs on private property, but says public spaces are off limits before June 20.
That includes city-run public areas such as rights of way, medians and street corners that often become magnets for political yard signs during election seasons. City parks and public building property are considered off-limits for all signs.
This hasn’t stopped scores of signs from popping in these areas in recent weeks.
Mixed Messaging
Rock Springs Mayor Max Mickelson admits he told people that they could put up yard signs whenever they pleased. This advice ran contrary to a new ordinance passed by the city in August 2023 that has created a variety of unexpected outcomes this summer.
“We donged up,” Mickelson said. “We did not catch these problems that would happen out in the real world.”
Another glaring flaw with the ordinance, he said, is that the city failed to take into consideration early voters, who can start casting votes by July 23.
“We understand that the ordinance as it’s written makes sense on paper but doesn’t function in reality so we’re going to fix it,” he said.
About a week ago, the city doubled down on standing behind its ordinance, sending out a press release reiterating that no political signs for the upcoming election could go up in public spaces until June 20, but clarified that any signs already up would not be subject to penalties or removal.
That amnesty for those already breaking the law caught the attention of the Sweetwater County Democratic Party, which made a Facebook post calling out Republicans for violating the ordinance.
“The (Sweetwater) Central Committee expects our candidates to abide by all laws and ordinances regardless of what other parties choose to do,” the June 7 post reads. “Sweetwater Dems are #HereForGood elections!”
Along with the post is a photo of a yard sign put up by state Sen. John Kolb, R-Rock Springs, at the city’s Wetlands Park.
Kolb said his sign placement is legal and the Democrats are targeting him unfairly.
"I follow the law and continue to follow the law," he said. "I find it unfair to be accused of something I didn't do. It's really the Democrats crying about putting signs out."
When one commenter on the post mentioned other local Republicans like Rep. J.T. Larson, who had also put signs up, the county Democratic Party responded that “it seems that a lot of people with Rs behind their names think the law doesn't apply to them.”
Mickelson said a few members of the Democratic Party also gave him an earful about the signage issue at an event last weekend.
Sweetwater County Democratic Party Chair Meghan Jensen did not immediately respond to a request for follow up comment.
Sweetwater County Republican Party Chairman Elizabeth Bingham said people have a right to be frustrated because few were aware of the ordinance when it passed, as it happened around the same time that a controversial BLM Resource Management Plan for the Rock Springs area was also released. It wasn’t until many people had already put their signs up around town that they found out about the rule, she said.
“It’s not fair to the candidates who in good faith are putting their signs out,” she said. “If you’re asking for people’s votes to represent them as a lawmaker, you should be following the law."
Many people in the southwest Wyoming city of Rock Springs are riled up about a new city ordinance prohibiting temporary yard signs in public spaces around the city, including political signs, as the 2024 election season hits full speed. (Courtesy Photo) 
Many people in the southwest Wyoming city of Rock Springs are riled up about a new city ordinance prohibiting temporary yard signs in public spaces around the city, including political signs, as the 2024 election season hits full speed. (Courtesy Photo)
A War?
Mickelson said the situation is being blown out of proportion and that people in Rock Springs are treating the issue as seriously as the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine.
“We’re not actually enemies at war in terms of the different parties, we’re all a community and we’re all neighbors,” he said. “Let’s take it down a notch guys, it’s just signs.”
Mickelson is still telling people to put their political signs up and said the city will likely get rid of the ordinance by August. He considers events like the political sign debacle an important result of public governance.
“Lawmakers make laws, sometimes they work out well, sometimes they’re problematic,” he said. “If lawmakers are doing their jobs appropriately, they receive that feedback and make adjustments.”
What For?
The driving reason for the ordinance is surprisingly benign — to save the city time and labor costs from maintenance workers having to pull up and reinsert yard signs when they mow city property during the summer months. Mowing city grass and shared Wyoming Department of Transportation land costs Rock Springs about $600,000 annually, Mickelson said.
“It adds to the labor costs of maintaining those spaces,” Mickelson said.
He said the city could also ban signs on public property altogether if it wanted to, but that would then prohibit signs for charitable groups like the Boy Scouts and chamber of commerce from being put up, which Mickelson doesn’t support as a self-described free speech advocate.
“There’s this huge amount of good that we would eliminate to prevent a little amount of difficulty,” Mickelson said. “If it’s adding 50-60 hours a week of labor time, that adds up to a huge cost. We’re trying to make sure we’re respecting people’s right to free expression while also being prudent to taxpayer money.”
There are plenty of political campaign signs in yards and along Cheyenne steets. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily) 
There are plenty of political campaign signs in yards and along Cheyenne steets. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily) 
There are plenty of political campaign signs in yards and along Cheyenne steets. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Context
Many cities in Wyoming have regulations for where political signs can and can’t be put up.
Rock Springs has long had an ordinance restricting the amount of time political signs can be up for, their size and location.
This came crashing down in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that restrictions on public signs must be content-neutral. Because of this, Bingham said the old Rock Springs ordinance went unenforced for the 2022 election, which she said worked great.
Then last August, Rock Springs passed a new ordinance stating that all temporary signs can only be up for 60 days in the city and taken down 10 days after an event.
The city of Cheyenne is well acquainted with this issue.
In 1995, Cheyenne resident Ronald Williams filed a lawsuit against the city challenging regulations stating that political signs could not be put up earlier than 45 days before an election. A Wyoming District Court ended up granting summary judgment in favor of Williams.
But the city didn’t give up.
In 2014, a lawsuit was again filed on Williams’ behalf after the city passed a new code stating residents could only put up two political signs on lots smaller than 1 acre, and then only 10 days before an election. The penalty for displaying a prohibited sign was a potential misdemeanor charge and fines of $100 for each day the signs were present.
The city rescinded the regulation shortly after Williams filed that lawsuit.
What’s Next?
Bingham and Mickelson are optimistic that the Rock Springs political sign feud will be short-lived.
“It’s a bunch of nonsense all getting worked out,” Bingham said.
Bingham wants a clear rule on political yard signs established for the next election cycle in Rock Springs that’s consistently enforced by the city. If the city does not remove the current ordinance by the time the next election comes around, she said the Sweetwater GOP will consider filing a lawsuit.
“It’s very plausible in the future if it doesn’t get ironed out,” she said. “Political speech is one of the most highly protected forms of speech.”
Mickelson is soliciting input from the local Republican and Democratic parties on the matter and said in an ideal world, nobody should get everything they want moving forward.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
