Former mayoral candidate cited by troopers after refusing to remove campaign signs from utility pole

JEANNETTE, Pa. — If you drive or walk around the City of Jeannette, you’re likely to come across “Ed Day for Mayor” signs stapled onto utility poles.

Day ran for mayor in the May primary, but lost. Despite that, he has yet to take his campaign signs down from a place state police said they never should have been posted.

Now, troopers have cited him.

“When you take any type of sign and attach it to a telephone pole, you have the ability to be cited,” Trooper Steve Limani said.

State police issued one citation against Day for a sign stapled to a power pole in state police jurisdiction.

But, troopers said they counted more than 35 signs still up across the city. Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek also drove around the city and saw them scattered all across Jeannette, stapled to utility poles.

State police said not only is it illegal, but it could potentially hurt line workers from First Energy, and it’s an eyesore.

“It’s unsightly,” Limani said. “If you could think of every single politician trying to tack on a sign to a pole as you’re driving down the road, it would be a horrific instance.”

State police said they reached out to Day to remove the signs and gave him three days to do so, but troopers said he refused.

“He chose to leave the signs up, he did not cooperate with simple requests to remove the signs, and he was cited for it,” Limani said.

State police also said he ‘verbally disparaged’ troopers as they were talking with him.

“He used verbiage that was not very polite to the corporal that was trying to bring notice of the fact that maybe you don’t know this is a law, however, you cannot do this,” Limani said. “And unfortunately, he refused to adhere to a simple request to obey the law.”

Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek spoke with Day over the phone. Day denied knowing about the citation, and denied disparaging police.

“I emphatically deny, and also I’d like to state that they’re telling lies,” Day said.

However, state police provided a photo showing proof of the phone call troopers had with Day on Saturday.

Troopers said he has 10 days to comply with the citation, or a warrant could be issued for his arrest.

Day tells Havranek he doesn’t plan to take the signs down, despite losing the primary.

Jeannette follows the state’s rule, which says political signs must be down 10 days after an election.

“The final election’s not until November, and a primary doesn’t end a campaign,” Day said.

Troopers said Day could face several hundred dollars in fines, which will be set by the magistrate.

First Energy, which owns the electrical poles, sent Channel 11 a statement regarding signs posted on its poles.

“Putting signs or other items on West Penn Power’s utility poles creates serious safety hazards for our employees and the public. Nails, staples or other fasteners used to attach these objects to poles can be dangerous to workers who must climb these poles to repair or maintain our equipment. Fixtures embedded in the pole can lead to a line worker snagging or piercing a hole in their personal protective equipment, like the insulated rubber gloves that keep them safe when they work with high-voltage electrical equipment. Tampering with a utility pole also puts an individual at risk of making accidental contact with energized power lines, which is why we urge the public to stay far away from our equipment.”

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