Q: Who put up the billboard on I-70 that says “Manhattan: The next best thing to communism”?
A: Timely question. It appears to have just gone up in the past couple of days.
The answer to your question is Ron Ford, who lives in Manhattan. He owns the land in Geary County where the billboard stands, public records show. The billboard company, Waitt Outdoor, sells space on a portion of the board, and Ford gets to use the other portion as he sees fit. A representative of Waitt said they would not accept that kind of advertising and advised the owner against it, but he did it anyway.
Why did Ford do this? We don’t know. In fact, he attempted to divert us. Contacted by The Mercury Friday, Ford said “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” complained about his treatment by The Mercury in the past, and hung up. It’s not clear what treatment he was referring to; Mercury archives show no mention of him in recent years.
Once we pinned down the public records that show he owns the land, we called him back twice from different numbers. He didn’t answer or respond to messages prior to presstime.
The billboard features a kicker that says: “Paid for by the Ford’s.”
Two things about that: First, it would certainly appear to confirm that Mr. Ford is the party in question. Second, it’s grammatically incorrect, and, as an editor and the son of an English teacher, I can’t let that stand. It’s a plural: Fords. It’s not a possessive.
Next, it’s entirely unclear what communism he’s referring to. Manhattan, like the rest of the United States, operates with a capitalist economy and a representative government. I’ve been around here my entire adult life and I don’t believe I’ve ever even been called “comrade,” although plenty of conservatives have called me a “card-carrying liberal,” and plenty of liberals have called me a “knee-jerk conservative.” That’s another story.
Anyway, assistant city manager Kiel Mangus said the city government had no ongoing disputes with Ford. He said officials from the city and the Chamber of Commerce were made aware of the billboard in the past 24 hours; nobody is particularly happy about the message, which faces eastbound traffic between Junction City and Manhattan. The board is near exit 298 on I-70, northwest of the roadway.
Four things are worth noting here: First, Ron Ford is not the same as John Ford, who is currently running for the Riley County Commission. John Ford disavowed any connection to the message and said he disagreed with it.
Second, the billboard above Ford’s is rented out to Freddy’s Frozen Custard, a burger franchise owned by Dave Dreiling, who is, of course, an avowed capitalist and not supportive of the message, either.
Third, there’s probably not anything anybody can do about it. Mr. Ford owns the property and has the right to use the billboard as he wants. The First Amendment guarantees that right.
Fourth, this is unrelated to a billboard in the same area along I-70 a few years back that called President Obama a Marxist dictator. That board was rented out by a different company to a woman in Denver, who just wanted to make a political point. Although there might be a somewhat similar political philosophy, there’s no connection.
You can submit a question to this column by e-mail to questions@themercury.com, or by regular mail to Questions, P.O. Box 787, Manhattan, KS 66505. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need!
