Mike Maguire, the DFL mayor of the Twin Cities suburb of Eagan, is

Hoping to preserve “the sanity of our citizens and the beauty of our community,” Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire called on candidates of all political stripes to pledge not to clutter his and other communities with unnecessary political campaign signs through the whole summer.

Maguire, who is running for reelection in November, was disappointed to return home from a family visit this weekend only to see his city already posted with campaign signs for candidates with no elections until November.

“It’s not even the 4th of July yet! Its just too early,” said the Mayor, “Through the summer these signs serve no real purpose but to clutter up our community and subject our citizens to a whole summer of political signage.”

I have a hunch his motive might be a tad more cynical than that; Eagan’s two House and one Senate seats fell to DFLers during the past two elections – but second-tier suburbs like Eagan (where AM1280 The Patriot, the station that broadcasts my show, is located) are hotbeds of the Tea Party in Minnesota.   Eagan’s seats are prime opportunities for GOP pickups this fall.

And the best way to prevent that, if you’re a DFL mayor, is to make sure your citizens aren’t aware that there are any challengers until the last possible moment.