(Photo Illustration – MetroCreative)

PARKERSBURG — As Election Day approaches, representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties in Wood County shared their views on their respective approaches to nonpartisan races and campaign regulations.

Democratic Chairman Jeff Fox said the party does not actively campaign for its candidates in nonpartisan races, such as for the Board of Education. Instead, he said the party maintains a slate of Democratic candidates but leaves campaigning in the hands of individual candidates.

“The only person who can win a campaign is the candidate himself.” Fox said.

He stressed the importance of door-to-door campaigning rather than billboards and events, and said the party offers training sessions to educate candidates about campaign finance reporting and signage laws. He said the party advises candidates to ask private landowners for permission before posting campaign signs, rather than placing them on public land.

“While there is a philosophy that you should put your signs anywhere and everywhere, because someone might walk by and see it, I’m not a big fan of a simple approach to signs.” Fox said. “I think if you keep the signs close to your territory, and that, along with door-to-door service, is how a candidate wins.”

GOP Executive Committee Chairman Scot Heckert said each county committee has the flexibility to determine how to handle nonpartisan races.

He said the committee voted to allow nonpartisan candidates to post campaign materials at Republican headquarters if they supported state and national Republican candidates. He said this was a change from previous policy, which had excluded nonpartisan candidates.

Both party chairs said they follow state and city regulations on campaign signs and how they are distributed. Heckert said this included regulations such as posting signs within 100 feet of any polling location, obtaining permission to post signs and not placing them on state rights-of-way or easements. He said the city also has an ordinance prohibiting campaign signs 30 days before an election, except on private property.

Fox said there are training sessions for new Democratic candidates. He said they educate candidates on campaign finance reporting requirements, such as reporting to the appropriate government offices, such as the city clerk, county clerk or the Secretary of State’s office. He said the training also covers guidance on campaign signage, emphasizing the importance of obtaining permission from property owners before posting signs.

“We bring everyone up to speed on that and then, as a general rule, I like to tell candidates that yes, signs are important, but so is permission for signs.” Fox said.

He said Wood County has traditionally had smooth elections, with voters being “Trusting our process here in Wood County.” He said the reports he receives from people who voted early this year indicate that they have had a “pleasant experience” with the process. He said spreading the vote out over a few weeks through early voting helps prevent polls from being overwhelmed on Election Day.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at [email protected]