Worcester Man Facing Fines For Political Signs On His Front Lawn
WORCESTER (CBS) - For the past 17 years, Stephen Quist has been posting political signs on his lawn, and now he suddenly finds himself in violation of a new city ordinance.
Quist has eighteen signs on his Worcester front lawn supporting city council and school committee candidates for the Nov. 8 election, but the city said he has to take most of them down because they exceed an area of 64 square feet.
"The framers of the Constitution didn't go around deciding square inches or square feet to limit free speech," said Quist.
He believes in activism not apathy, especially since he says turnout was less then nine percent in the last city election.
WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports.
But, he was served with a "cease and desist" order to comply within a week or face fines of $300 per day.
For now, the city said it will hold off on fining Quist to give him time to appeal, which he plans to do with the zoning board and will take it all the way to court if necessary.
City officials said they are more interested in compliance than collecting fines, and the city council may consider amendments to the ordinance which was passed last spring in an attempt to reduce clutter in the city.
"You can fight city hall and win," he said.
His case may turn out to be a test case of the ordinance, since the zoning board won't hear his appeal until after the election when the signs will have been taken down.
"It's the city's attempt to turn around and stifle free speech, period," he said.
