To run, or not to run... or for what to run - mayor, councillor or dog catcher?!

I noticed the other day while driving down Carling Avenue that Bay ward candidate Sherril Noble's signs looked like they were once used by someone else. As they flashed by it seemed that the flipside of her "white" signs were actually green with yellow writing. Upon checking them out this morning at the corner of Carling and Richmond, I saw that that one sign was a "large" Shawn Little sign chopped into two!

Given how swiftly they went up late last week, one would have to speculate that Mr. Little knew far before the day he announced last week that upon further reflection, he would not seek re-election after all. Given his public dislike for Councillor Cullen, it seems somewhat amusing that he and his signs live on in the campaign of the third or fourth candidate for council in Bay ward!

It also makes it sound like it was a far more pre-meditated move than readers of the Sun and the Citizen last week were led to believe! It's highly unlikely that Ms. Noble would have been able to get a sign shop to print up her signs "overnight" after calling Mr. Little out of the blue after reading in the paper that he was retiring from public life.

Now that I think about it, it seems to me that Terry Kilrea's sudden move to recuse himself from the mayoralty race to run in ward 7 must also have had some involved planning, for no sooner than he announced that fateful Friday, he had a neat new sign to put up in the lighted fixture at his "new" campaign office on Richmond Road. Can you lease office space and whip backlit signs up in mere hours? Perhaps - but I doubt it!

Who said municipal elections were boring?!!

Follow-up: After exchanging e-mail with a local journalist I have learned that Councillor Little had in fact planned on acquiring new signage for the 2006 re-election campaign. Fascinating, though understandable - while most candidates for re-election reuse their old signs, the yellow on dark green likely needed replacement! This doesn't change the amusing fact that Councillor Little, certainly not a member of Alex Cullen's fan club, still have "have an influence" (however indirect) on his soon to be former foe's fate!