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Candidate Banners Can Leave Clients, Businesses Bruised
Signs for the Republican team of John McCain and Sarah Palin near the marquee at Colony South Hotel & Conference Center in Clinton -- right in Barack Obama territory -- have spurred calls for boycotts of the facility.
(By Jenna Johnson -- The Washington Post)
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"We support everyone here," Vahabzadeh said of the facility, whose front lawn is frequently adorned with signs for Democratic candidates and has been the venue for the annual prayer breakfast for former state delegate Obie Patterson (D-Prince George's), a recent home foreclosure program called by Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) and a meeting of the African American Democratic Club.
Two weeks ago, a fundraiser for Obama was held there. "If I was so Republican, why would I book an Obama fundraiser?" Vahabzadeh asked.
Bob Ross, 63, a community activist who lives near the hotel, said Obama supporters should see the sign as a reminder that they should "stay vigilant."
"That sign should serve as a reminder that everybody who supports Obama should make sure to bring five or six people with them to the polls Nov. 4. It means that there is still more work to be done."
June White Dillard, president of the Prince George's chapter of the NAACP, said the type of events Colony South has booked in the past is the reason the sign cut so deeply.
Mary Brantley, a travel agency owner from Upper Marlboro, belongs to the health club at Colony South and was among those who complained to the hotel. She was heartened to see the marquee changed Wednesday. It now advertises football games.
But as she drove past the hotel Friday afternoon, she couldn't help notice the two large banners in the front yard proclaiming: "McCain Palin. Country First." Again.
