A legal opinion from the city's corporation counsel has clarified that political sign waving on public streets and sidewalks is constitutionally protected.

But police say they are concerned about public safety and are asking campaigners to take precautions.

Last week, police were ordering some Windward City Council candidates off medians and traffic islands at key intersections where they had gathered in the traditional island style to wave signs. Some candidates said they were told to leave or receive a police citation.

The crackdown came after police received complaints about sign waving at several locations.

But after being advised that it is unconstitutional to interfere with the practice, police said they just want candidates to express their First Amendment rights in a safe manner and are now asking for their cooperation.

"We're concerned for everyone's safety, the sign wavers as well as the drivers," Maj. Frank Fujii, spokesman for the Honolulu Police Department, said Thursday. "If we do get a call regarding hazardous activity, we will respond to address it and we can only hope that people realize that and comply with the request that we make."

The sign-waving practice is decades old and in recent years has been adopted by community and nonprofit groups as an inexpensive means to raise money.

But the crackdown raised questions about these other organizations, freedom of speech and equitable treatment under the law.

EVERYONE DOES IT

Nonprofit groups, panhandlers and even newspaper vendors are all out there, said candidate Wilson Ho, who was one of the District 3 candidates asked to leave the intersection at Likelike and Kamehameha highways.

"There's got to be parity in this thing, and we're not getting it," Ho said. He added that he's not for ending the practice but said some guidelines would be helpful.

"This is a Hawai'i tradition," he said. "... Yes it's kind of slippery, but people need to make money, people need to get recognition, they need exposure. This helps the little guy."

Ho said candidates are careful most of the time while sign waving but acknowledged there are times when they can be a distraction to drivers. He said rules would help the situation.

The corporation counsel's office (the city's legal adviser and representative) said that state law banning hand-held campaign signs on public highways was declared unconstitutional in 1975, according to city spokesman Bill Brennan.

A city ordinance allows for the sale of newspapers — no permit is required — Brennan said in an e-mail.

However, another section of the law bans people from soliciting contributions from automobiles, except where city ordinances would allow such activities, he said.

"The city Department of Transportation has in the past issued street usage permits to charitable organizations to allow such solicitation of donations from occupants of motor vehicles," Brennan wrote.

FOODBANK DRIVE

Lori Kaya, with the Hawaii Foodbank, said her organization depends on those kinds of solicitations to raise money to feed the hungry.

This weekend, donation sites have been set up at various intersections, where Foodbank volunteers will be seeking money and holding signs to ask people to give.

The Foodbank has helped organize these drives for three or four years and has never had a run-in with police, Kaya said.

The proper permits are obtained, volunteers are trained and they are given safety vests, she said.

"I think the complaints that have come about over recent years isn't so much about the Foodbank activity on Food Drive Day," Kaya said. "I think it's more a reaction to some of the smaller organizations ... who are sending the kids out on the street on the weekends with the fishnet with very little supervision. I think a lot of them aren't even applying for the proper permits."

As for the Windward City Council candidates, they've already been returning to key intersections to get their message out to voters.

This is the last weekend before the results of the election are announced Thursday. Registered voters were sent ballots that must be received by Thursday (postmark not acceptable).