With Election Day a little more than five weeks away, Hinesville city officials conducted the first-ever candidate information sharing meeting Thursday night to make sure the 16 contenders vying for office “understand the rules of engagement” for campaigning.
The session covered everything from the new voter identification laws to campaign ethics, but at a time when visibility among voters is key in most elections, campaign signage on residential property was the number one topic of discussion.
“You can put out as many yard signs as you want, provided that totally, they do not exceed 16 sq. ft. on each lot nor exceed 5 feet in height,” Hinesville City Manager Billy Edwards told candidates and their representatives in attendance. “They can be placed anywhere on the residential property as long as they’re not on the right-of-way.”
Noting right-of-ways vary by location, Edwards said possible breaches of the rule would be handled on a case-by-case basis and signs in violation of the policy would be picked up and placed behind the City of Hinesville Department of Inspections.
After some candidates complained the regulation was inconsistent and limited some campaign abilities,  outgoing mayor Tom Ratcliffe said the sign rule, as well as all campaign statutes, were not meant to hamper campaigns, but to set a standard across the board.
“We’re not trying to restrict your political activity. We encourage it, we embrace it,” Ratcliffe said. “But it’s important that we maintain a sense of decorum and courtesy as you compete with each other.”

Hinesville
candidates

Mayor
Billy Kitchings
Robert F. “Bob” Pirkle
Sampie W. Smith
James (Jim) Thomas

City Council, 1st District
Charles Frasier
Robert D. Robbins

City Council, 2nd District
James R. (Bobby) Ryon

City Council, 3rd District
David Anderson Sr.
Yong H. Lee
Bonita Smith

City Council, 4th District
Keith Jenkins
Jack Shuman
Eric A. Thomas

City Council, 5th District
Peter L. Jones
Kenneth Shaw
Angela Wilson