Living in LoCo contributors Dave Nemetz of Lansdowne, Amanda Carruthers of Belmont Country Club, Tom Regan of Lovettsville and Marie Bertozzi of near Brambleton wrote in with some of their observations about the political activity in their neighborhoods in the weeks running up to the election.

The Signs of Lansdowne

It's a sign of the (election season) times: political signs for various candidates are popping up in front yards all over the county. As Val Cavalheri wrote about for Living in LoCo on Oct. 22, some neighborhoods in Loudoun are experiencing problems because of political signs.

Not so, though, in Lansdowne on the Potomac.

Signs were sparse early in October, but in the past two weeks or so, more have started to pop up. In an informal survey I took during a drive through the neighborhood recently, I found about 42 homes on the main arteries displaying political signs. Of those homes with signs, my guess is that about 60 percent favored Barack Obama, and 40 percent were for John McCain. There was a sprinkling of signs for Mark Warner, but very few signs for Jim Gilmore, Frank Wolf and Judy Feder, all down-ticket from the presidential candidates.

Lansdowne's Declaration of Covenants (Section 7.15) restricts signage in the community to real estate and security signs only, but that hasn't stopped residents from showing support for their preferred candidates.

The Code of Virginia, section 15.2-109, says (in part) "(n)o locality shall have the authority to prohibit the display of political campaign signs on private property ... if the signs have been posted with the permission of the owner." But in a 2004 ruling, according to www.vahoalaw.com, Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore ruled that "the restriction imposed by § 15.2-109 on a locality's authority to regulate the display of political campaign signs on private property does not apply to private homeowners' associations."

It seemed to me that residents here have been quite civil in their tolerance for the signs, as I have noticed no apparent vandalism. Signs have stayed where they were posted. Of course, some residents see the signs as a violation of the covenants. But to the credit of Lansdowne residents, it has not deteriorated into destruction or partisan sniping.

-- Dave Nemetz

Disappearing Signs

Looking at the signs in my area of Ashburn, I've seen about 100 political signs in people's yards. Generally, the signs are for one of the two presidential candidates, not the state or local candidates. Most are for McCain/Palin – at least 80 percent by my quick, informal count.

We've had some problems with signs in our neighborhood. We had a McCain/Palin sign in our yard, as did about four or five of our neighbors. During the night of Obama's appearance in Leesburg about two weeks ago, all of our signs disappeared. We're not sure who took them, but we were able to replace them with new signs from the local Republican Party.

-- Amanda Carruthers

A Shift in the County

If you want to know how much Loudoun County has changed politically in the last decade, Kristine Condi can give you a pretty good idea.

Kristine told me that when she moved to Loudoun in 1997, then in the eastern part of the county, you didn't necessarily let people know your political opinions ... if you were a Democrat. When she put up an Al Gore sign on her front lawn in 2000, she received hate mail and nasty phone calls. Later, when she worked as a Democratic organizer, finding poll workers was like "pulling teeth" and many of those who did volunteer told her they didn't want to work in areas where their neighbors might see them.

But Kristine, who now lives in Taylorstown and is working for the Obama campaign, says it's a completely different situation this time. This time she has many more poll workers then she needs, and she says people are no longer shy about telling people they are Democrats. It's a whole new world for her.

"I've never experienced the kind of energy that the Obama campaign has brought to the local level," she said on the phone the other day. "It's a big change."

Overall, in my unofficial survey of friends and acquaintances in the area, Kristine seems to be right. Many said they were leaning toward Obama. A couple of folks, parents of one of my daughter's friends, started up conversations about the election with me. They said normally they vote Republican, but not this time. They were angry about the current administration, and they didn't like the tone of McCain's campaign.

Not everyone, however, is taken with the Illinois senator.

My friend Tia Brierton, who lives in Lovettsville and describes herself as conservative, believes that McCain can still pull it out.

She was not originally a McCain supporter (Mike Huckabee was her guy). But she believes that all the things that drive her crazy about the Arizona senator – "Sometimes, I find myself screaming at the TV yelling 'Why did you say that?' '' she joked – are what make him the right man for the job. He'll do what's best for America, regardless of what anybody says, she said.

Tia added that she still thinks that many people who say they are voting for Obama aren't telling the truth and will switch to McCain on Election Day - but not because of Obama's race. Tia thinks he's just too liberal for most Virginia voters.

Regardless of political leanings, almost all the folks I talked with would probably agree with one thing that Tia told me: "Anybody who tells you that they are undecided in this election is just not telling you the truth."

-- Tom Regan

Where Are the Undecideds?

In the past few weeks, as I have been talking to friends, family, neighbors and clients, I have not yet met an "undecided" voter.

I know that they exist. I know this thanks to the media coverage, both nationally and locally. One needs only to remember the interviews that NBC's Today show conducted with our own undecided Loudouners after the last presidential debate. As the campaigns have hit the local streets around Brambleton and South Riding, they have spent many hours trying to find and persuade those undecided voters to come over to their side.

But in my day-to-day interactions, I have not met anyone who doesn't have a very strong opinion as to who should be the next president of the United States. So, undecideds, if you are still out there, let us know what you are thinking.

-- Marie Bertozzi

Don't see your neighborhood represented here? Let us know below what you are seeing and hearing about the campaigns. And visit our November 2008 Elections page to find your polling station, view our voter guide and more.