It’s election season.

Which means that it’s also the time of year when political signs start to pepper front yards across the city.

Kevin Butler, the city’s law director, said that this is the time of year when he starts to get phone calls about the legality of political advertisements.

“We just don’t touch them,” said Butler, citing First Amendment rights. “Political speech is purely protected.”

One Lakewood resident emailed Lakewood Patch about a pro-Romney sign in her neighbor’s yard.

She said she thought it might be too early for political signs.

“Unless they’re on public property, we don’t enforce restrictions on political signs at all,” Butler said, adding that the enforcement of a size of a political sign is only an issue if the sign is too large. 

“Then, there’s a legitimate safety situation,” he said, noting that there hasn’t been an issue of that kind. 

He said residents often call to complain about political signs advertising candidates who are no longer running — such as Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich. 

“It’s an often-asked question,” Butler said. “We take these issues on a case-by-case basis.”