Dublin parades to allow candidates
Candidates for local office — and even presidential hopefuls — can walk in Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day parade March 10.
Objections from the American Civil Liberties Union have brought changes to Dublin’s parade policy.
Dublin received a letter from the ACLU last June before the annual Independence Day parade, alleging that the city’s parade policy regarding candidates for public office was “unconstitutional.”
“I am referring to the policy which prohibits candidates for public office from campaigning, using the words ‘elect’ or ‘vote for’ and passing out literature or any printed material during the city’s upcoming Fourth of July parade,” ACLU Ohio legal director James Hardiman wrote in a letter dated June 16, 2011. “It is my understanding that while sitting public officials are permitted to display their names and currently held positions, non-incumbents are prohibited from identifying who they are and the offices to which they are seeking election.”
Parade guidelines in Dublin allowed commercial, nonprofit, elected officials, parade partners and parade or event sponsors in the lineup. Political candidates had been permitted in Dublin parades until October 2008, when the policy was changed to prohibit them from the annual St. Patrick’s Day and Fourth of July parades.
“The guidelines were intended to enhance the entertainment value of parade units and shorten the length of parades for the enjoyment of spectators,” a recent staff memo to council stated.
But after the ACLU’s letter, the parade policy has been amended to include “any person or group that desires to enter a parade unit in a city of Dublin parade” free of charge.
Parades have been limited to 110 units, and entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
The new guidelines were sent to Hardiman, the staff memo said, and in his response Hardiman “indicated that the new rules appear to address their previously expressed concerns about the policy regarding political candidates.”
Dublin’s next parade will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and is set to step off from Metro Center at 11 a.m. March 10.
