David Graupner Messes With Texas

Sign In Question

COPPELL, TX resident and TM STUDIOS Pres./CEO DAVID GRAUPNER recently received a letter from his Home Owners Association, threatening fines for having political signs in his front yard, reports THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Surely, he figured, his homeowners association couldn’t force him to pull up his small yard signs supporting Democratic Presidential nominee BARACK OBAMA.

He didn’t know it at the time, but a three-year-old state law prohibits associations from enforcing outright bans on reasonably sized political signs.

Still, less than a month later, GRAUPNER was told that his signs violated a homeowners association rule. He got a letter threatening at least $200 in fines if the two signs in his flower bed didn’t come up.

"It’s not like I have a giant 80-foot OBAMA banner," he said. "It just makes me mad. We should, as a community, be encouraging people to vote. We should be encouraging people to take part in the political process. That’s what a community is."

After newspaper pointed out the law to GRAUPNER on MONDAY, he said he wondered how many other residents received similar letters and complied with them, rather than keeping their signs up. GRAUPNER then told HOA Manager ALISON DECARLUCCI about the law.

On TUESDAY, she told him he could keep the signs.

Now he hopes more neighbors start to put up their own signs -- even if they support Republican nominee JOHN MCCAIN.

« see more Net News