Socorro City Rep's Disregard for State Law

This has happened several times now and Socorro City Rep Ralph Duran continues to engage in the same activity, which can only mean he doesn't care what the law says. Duran, who is facing an election in just a few short days, appears to not care about complying with the state election code by using a traffic control device for a non-traffic related purpose on a state highway. 

Let me underscore that last point...ON A STATE HIGHWAY. Not next to one. Not in the right-of-way. ON THE ACTUAL ROAD.

At issue is a traffic control device usually used to advise motorists of some change in driving conditions due to an emergency, safety hazard, or other construction-related issue. Duran, along with Apache Barricade Company, have been putting a message that has nothing to do with traffic control on the signs that says "Re-Elect Ralph Duran for District 2 Representative".

This is obviously completely unethical and an indicator of the fact that he thinks laws shouldn't apply to him, and I'll elaborate on that later in this post, but is a blatant violation of state law.

First, here's a screenshot of some video I shot yesterday of one of the signs in question yesterday on North Loop near St. Peter & Paul's Catholic Church in Socorro.

As you can see, the actual sign is sitting on the road.

You can note that there is traffic in the background, the sidewalk is to the right of the sign and the right-of-way is off to the right of the sidewalk. For this sign's placement to be legal, it would have to be off into the cotton field, to the right of the right-of-way.

State law prohibits political signs to be placed in the right-of-way of roads. Its such an important law that part of the statute indicating you can't put the sign in the ROW is actually REQUIRED to be printed on any political signs that are meant to be seen from a road. 

Its the fine print you see on all campaign signs that are popping up around town.

This sign is obviously a political sign and doesn't comply with the law that way either. Duran will face a fine from the Texas Ethics Commission because I will be filing a complaint on this issue as well later today.

But lest anyone think I'm in the wrong on this one, let me show you the specific parts of state law that are violated here.

First, lets establish that this is in fact a "sign" as covered by the Texas Transportation Code. Here's the definition:

Okay that is an outdoor sign and design, intended, and used to advertise and inform.

So CHECK.

Now lets talk about placement of the sign. As you can see from the picture above, the sign is actually ON North Loop. It is required to not even be in the right-of-way of a road. Here is where the code says that doing so is a criminal offense:

So CHECK and CHECK.

Now lets talk about the requirement of ROW placement being so important the law requires a disclaimer to be actually printed on the signs. Here is the part of the code governing the ROW disclaimer, which is not part of said sign:

So CHECK.

You'll note that not having that notice on the sign, which you can clearly see from the picture above, it does not, is yet another criminal offense.

And according to the code, a deputy or a constable can actually CONFISCATE a sign that is in violation of the statute, as noted here:

Mr. Duran, along with the current mayor, have violated this before. Back in July the two did the exact same thing. Don't believe me? Well I have a pic from July that shows a previous use of the same kind of signs for the same purpose.

Again, on the ROW, political message, no disclaimer, etc.

But according to one expert in the field who now works for the City of Fort Worth, the barricade company, Apache Barricades, could be in jeopardy of losing their certification with the State of Texas for violations of using traffic control devices for non-traffic control. That would be a major blow to that company. The company, and the individuals working for the company are required to comply with the certification process with the State of Texas.

So lets conclude with what this tactic says about Duran. To me, it says that he has violated the law several times with impunity. It saws he is willing to win no matter the cost or violation of the law. It says that he wants to be a policy maker, but doesn't think he is especially required to follow policies himself. And it says to me he doesn't care that the use of the signs gives the impression that it is some government sanctioned support of his candidacy.

This is the type of win-at-all-costs people that have let down the people of Socorro for years.

And you know what is even sadder?

He's probably gonna win.