South Whitehall Settles Lawsuit On Campaign Signs

South Whitehall has settled a lawsuit by former state Senate candidate Richard Orloski that challenged a township zoning ordinance on the placement of campaign signs.

According to the settlement approved by the South Whitehall commissioners in July, the township will pay $12,350 in attorney fees to Orloski’s lawyer.

South Whitehall solicitor Joseph Zator said the township will pay its $10,000 deductible and then its insurance policy will cover the remainder of the cost.

Orloski, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully in the 2010 state Senate race against incumbent Sen. Pat Browne, R-16th District, had challenged the township zoning ordinance after officials ordered him to take down campaign signs or face a fine.

Orloski’s attorney, Lawrence Otter of Doylestown, said Orloski was threatened with a $500 a day fine for not having a permit and for having his signs in a right-of-way. Otter said both restrictions violate the First Amendment.

Otter said he has sued more than 90 municipalities over similar issues. He has reached settlements with all of them so far, he said, except in one lawsuit in Philadelphia.

The township amended its ordinance earlier this year to address the issues raised in Orloski’s lawsuit. Otter said he has not seen the amended ordinance so he can’t fully evaluate it yet.

However, Otter said, he regards any size restrictions for campaign signs in an amended ordinance as “problematic and unconstitutional.”