Sign of the Times? Political Billboard Issue Leaves Some Locals Frustrated

Local Democrats are upset after a billboard company took down their Harris-Walz sign over a landowner complaint.

Fayette County Democratic Party Chairwoman Mary Wolf said her party paid $2,500 to Sign Ad Outdoor Advertising for a billboard campaign sign on State Hwy. 71 just west of La Grange. The billboard read “Keep American Free” and “Harris Walz” in white letters in a blue background. The bottom line stated “Political Advertising Paid for by the Fayette County Democratic Party.”

The billboard is located on the property of the Ewald Kubota tractor dealership. Wolf said SignAd installed the sign on Oct. 14. It was supposed to stay up through Election Day, Nov. 5. The company took the sign down last Tuesday, Oct. 22. “SignAd said the owner of the property had received some threatening calls saying people were going to boycott their business,” Wolf said. “So they decided it needed to come down, which is really unfortunate that we have some people in this small county who would threaten a business owner like that.”

Wolf said SignAd told her they voided the contract and will refund the full amount the party paid for the billboard.

Wolf stated the following concerning dealership’s decision to remove the sign.

“I can see their point if somebody threatened their business,” she said. “But one part of me is like, ‘Really? Somebody is not going to go there if they have a Kubota tractor and buy parts?’ I mean, I own a Kubota tractor and I go there and shop. It doesn’t matter to me what political side they’re on.”

“Some of my best friends are Republicans,” she said. “My family members are Republicans. We still talk to each other. We have a good relationship. I don’t understand it.”

The Record attempted to contact the Kubota dealership for comment on this story, but they have not responded.

The Record also reached out to Fayette County Republican Party Chairman Michael Schlabach for his thoughts on the billboard episode.

“I respect businesses to make their own choices,” Schlabach said.

“I don’t give a flip if it’s a drag show or a billboard,” he added, referencing the drag event and associated protest at Sengelmann Hall in Schulenburg two weeks ago.

“That’s their business,” he said. “Let them do what they want.”