# Why is money wasted changing welcome signs when a new governor is elected? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 12, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112 "2017-07-12T17:57:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/41 "2017-07-15T02:07:34Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > In Alabama’s case it was [75 signs, $16,000 total](http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/alabama_spending_16000_on_sign.html). Not just interstates but also all major highways that cross the state line. I think that’s just the cost of the new signs, not including the labor for installation. Yeah, hadn’t thought about US highways and such, so that’s reasonable. Still, 16K is pretty much barely a rounding error in state budgets, particularly for something that normally happens once every 4-8 years. Yeah, every little bit can help or whatnot, but this is like me reducing global emissions by turning my A/C off in my car one day a year. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/42 "2017-07-15T04:00:56Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Cuomo doesn’t seem to have done it with the border signs in NY, but I know previous governors have. Judging by the signs I am most familiar with ( the welcome signs to each borough of NYC and the signs outside state prisons) , the signs are not necessarily replaced when the names change. Just the names are replaced- see > > [Bronx](https://www.google.com/search?q=welcome+to+nyc+signs&tbm=isch&imgil=Mcr95OyffEhd-M%253A%253BZ7_o_v-CMwhCyM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fbrokelyn.com%25252Fsign-here-and-here-and-here%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=Mcr95OyffEhd-M%253A%252CZ7_o_v-CMwhCyM%252C_&usg=__oe8PyvZX2O7yc-OefOiq2yF7xXI%3D&biw=1600&bih=770&ved=0ahUKEwjS1PWe9YTVAhVCdT4KHXxmABwQyjcIOg&ei=M7NmWZLvAcLq-QH8zIHgAQ#imgrc=0NFLckxLFAvC4M:) > and [Sing Sing](https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sing-sing-correctional-facility-ossining?select=qO6dXhcUJEXhiPVFHc6zAA) > It’s easier to see it on the Bronx sign, but the whole sign doesn’t have to be replaced. Mario Cuomo did, but it it didn’t seem to become a tradition among NYS governors, including his son. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/43 "2017-07-15T12:39:41Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Even odder is the name of the Illinois Secretary of State is featured prominently at the top of Illinois driver’s licenses. > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [Here’s](https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3038639/pages/7bf3d8e5-3bb4-437c-84cc-381689eea966-p1-normal.gif) the mailer Ohio current sends out to ask if you want an absentee ballot. Can you tell who sent it? I think they can read it from the space station. (He’s running for governor next year, and this trick gives him a state-funded ad in every voter’s mailbox.) ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/44 "2017-07-17T01:39:41Z")
AMEN! Who cares, right? If s/he’s all that important, let him/her stand at the border and sign autographs! ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/45 "2017-07-17T15:08:41Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Do we have any numbers on just how much money this actually costs? If we’re talking signs on the incoming interstates that’s what, 4-6 signs total? How many states have only 4 - 6 roads connecting them to other states (minus Hawaii)? This isn’t just highways. here are many more signs than 4 - 6. But my OP wasn’t just about state signs. County parks, state parks, city parks. You name it, there’s a place where the sign patrol comes out and wastes money changing these to reflect the current regime. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/46 "2017-09-22T16:29:06Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > This. Our former sheriff, Joe Arpaio, stuck his name on every sign he could get his hands on. His replacement, Paul Penzone, hasn’t bothered replacing them yet; he probably figures everyone who cares already knows. It’s bugging me a little and I’ve been considering going out some night with a can of black spray paint to redact some of them. Update: The other day I wheeled by the county government complex by my house and the sheriff’s sign had been updated to “Sheriff of Maricopa County.” Yay, Paul. ---
**Author:** ![jrsone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jrsone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrsone)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/47 "2017-09-22T17:04:39Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > West Virginia used to have signs that simply read “Welcome to Wild and Wonderful West Virginia”. A couple of decades ago, those were replaced by signs that had the governor’s name on them, and a lot of folks were upset by it. The current signs still have the current governor’s name, though the name is a lot smaller on the sign these days, and they put “Wild and Wonderful” back onto the sign to appease everyone that was upset by the sign change. > > To be fair, West Virginia doesn’t have many highways going in and out of it, so they probably don’t have to make up too many signs. It’s still a waste, though (IMHO). > > Pennsylvania (where I live now) signs just say “Pennsylvania Welcomes You” with “State of Independence” under that in much smaller letters. There’s a phone number for tourism at the bottom of the sign (800-VISIT-PA) along with a URL for the state web page, but no governor name anywhere. > > As for the township where I live, their sign hasn’t been changed in several decades. I believe it said “Open for Business” too. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112/48 "2017-09-23T02:34:53Z")
Because the new guy in charge doesn’t see it as a waste. Simple really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-money-wasted-changing-welcome-signs-when-a-new-governor-is-elected/791112.md?page=2)