It’s campaign season, and I’ve had an unusually high number of requests by candidates to campaign at our events. So, I thought it would be a good idea to send out a few parameters to all of you, in case you get questions.
It is OK for a candidate or candidate’s campaign team to do the following:
· Wear clothing promoting a candidate (anywhere/anytime)
· Come to a public event in a public place and chat with attendees in a casual manner (examples include the larger library events, such as the Altavista Block Party and public athletic league games, like a Saturday morning soccer game at Yellow Branch Elementary)
Note: We did allow any type of vendors at the Street Fair, so there were political booths, but that was a one-time deal b/c it was a street fair with all sorts of vendors. As you know, we do not do many events with nonprofit/religious/political vendors. We may end up doing other festivals where this is the case, in the future. However, for now, this is the only one. Some candidates have reached out to me because they were thinking we opened up to vendors like this at all of our events. We do not.
It is NOT OK for a candidate or candidate’s campaign team to do the following:
· Put up campaign signs in/ at any of our facilities (“our facilities” refers to parks and libraries; the schools and other county buildings may have other parameters I’m not aware of)
· Hand out campaign literature in/ at any of our facilities
· Crash events where registration is required in order to chat up attendees (examples include Babygarten and the Hunter Safety classes)
As county employees, while we are on the clock, we are not allowed to engage in any political activities. Off the clock is, of course, just fine!
Please refer any candidates questions that fall outside the scope of these activities to me, and I’ll be happy to chat with them.
Posted by Jordan Welborn on 9-15-2023