BERLIN, MD — Purnell B. Jarvis, Jr., candidate for Mayor of Berlin and a man who has never once in his life asked permission to speak his mind, today refused to take down his 'Make Berlin Uncool Again' campaign signs after Town officials threatened enforcement action. Town officials claim the signs require a permit and say they will march onto Purnell's property and steal the signs if they are still standing on July 9th.

But Town officials are wrong. Who wins Commissioner seats in the General Election has a direct bearing on Purnell's campaign to Make Berlin Uncool Again. The fact is that until after the general election in November, political signs are exempt from Berlin's permitting requirements — a fact Purnell says the Town knows perfectly well (Town Code Section 108-908).

The Town's threat targets roughly a half dozen Purnell signs on the south side of Berlin that have been standing for a few days - except the three that were stolen, Purnell believes the thief was possibly the Town itself, "Talk about official repression!".

Though the Town demands Purnell's signs come down, hundreds of 'I Support Public Education' signs were planted in yards, medians, and rights-of-way across Berlin for the better part of a year without so much as a raised eyebrow from code enforcement. In fact, one of those signs still stands today directly across the street from the Town planning office. Nobody at Town Hall has managed to notice it, apparently, in months of walking past it to get their peach dumplings.

"I support public education too, and I'm fine with people putting a sign in their yard saying they support it. I just want the Town to leave my political signs alone too. Seriously, you want to tell me the Town can't see a sign that's twenty feet from their own front door for a whole year, but they spotted six of mine before the glue on the stakes was dry? Please. That isn't code enforcement. That's a politician's thumb on the scale, and I've been around long enough to know the difference between a rulebook and a hit list."

Jarvis noted that the selective enforcement makes the Town's motive plain enough. 'If it were really about permits, they'd be knocking on dozens of houses from the High School halfway to Libertytown he said. 'It's about which speech makes them comfortable. If it's a flavor this Town Hall likes, it's okay, but Make Berlin Uncool Again? Different story. That one hits close to home, so all of a sudden somebody concocts a deliberate misrepresentation of the rulebook'

"This is political censorship, dressed up in a hi-vis vest and holding a clipboard. The First Amendment doesn't have a permit requirement for political signs during election season, and neither does Berlin. My signs stay up. If the Town wants to come take them, they can bring a truck, a lawyer, and a good explanation for that sign across from their own window."

Jarvis said he has instructed supporters not to remove any 'Make Berlin Uncool Again' signs and encouraged residents who want one to reach out to the campaign. 'The politicians at Town Hall see these ideas as a threat, and they're right to,' he said. 'That's exactly why the signs are staying up, and exactly why there's going to be more of them coming.'

###