Campaign Policies

Campaigning on City Property

  • "Petitions for or against issues, ordinances, resolutions, laws, statutes, or acts of any political subdivision, including petitions circulated to place initiatives and referendums or the name of any person on a ballot for election to any public office shall not be circulated within any City building."
  • City personnel rules require all employees to remain free from political activity while on duty, while on City premises, or in an official uniform of the City.
  • City employees should not be approached directly with questions, requests for information, or to sign Council petitions.

Requests for Information

  • All candidate requests for information are processed as citizen requests through the City Manager's Office via the City Clerk. Due to the prohibition against using public resources to influence the outcome of an election, candidates are required to pay the City's standard copying charge.

Candidate Requests to Meet with City Staff

  • Requests to meet with City staff will be accepted after the candidate filing and shall be submitted to the City Clerk's Office in writing.
  • The City Clerk will contact the appropriate department head to arrange the meeting.
  • All candidates will be invited to attend and the meetings will be scheduled based on candidate availability. Because candidates are limited to one 2-hour meeting per division, it is important to include all key employees from the division when requesting the meeting.
  • Written reports are prepared for every meeting held with Council candidates and are filed with the City Clerk's Office.

Candidate Orientation / Forum

  • A Council candidate orientation meeting will be held sometime in 2020.
  • City department and division heads will be on hand for presentations and to provide an opportunity for candidates to ask questions and learn more about City operations

Campaign Signs

Portable campaign signs for candidates are permitted on private property in all zoning districts with the consent of the property owner. Private commercial properties are allowed to display twenty-four (24) square feet of portable signage, while private residential properties are allowed to display sixteen (16) square feet of portable signage. It is up to the individual property owners to decide how much, if any, of their portable signage allotment will be devoted to portable campaign signs. The City does not regulate when portable campaign signs may be placed on private property or for how long.

If a private property owner displays portable signage in excess of the allowed square footage for the parcel, the City will contact the property owner and request that the excess signage be removed. It is up to the property owner to decide which signs to remove. If the signs are not removed within twenty-four hours after notification, the City may cite the property owner for the violation. 

Sign Restrictions

Pursuant to Section 10-50.100 of the Flagstaff City Code, General Restrictions to All Signs, signs may not be placed in the following locations:

  1. Within, on, or projecting over a City right-of-way.
  2. On public property.
  3. Any location that obstructs the view of any authorized traffic sign, signal, or other traffic control device.
  4. Areas allowing for ingress to or egress from any door, window, or any exit way required by the Building Code or Fire Department regulations currently in effect.

If a portable campaign sign is placed in violation of City Code Section 10-50.100, the City will notify the campaign of the violation. If the sign remains in violation at least twenty-four hours after the notification, the City will take enforcement action against the campaign, which may include removal of the sign and/or issuing a citation to the campaign. 

If the City deems that the placement of a political sign constitutes an emergency, the City may immediately relocate the sign. The City will notify the campaign committee that placed the sign within twenty-four hours after the relocation.