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No Solicitors
Many front doors have a prominent “No Solicitors” sign displayed, which is a nice way of pointing out to hopeful door-to-door salesmen that the door will be shut on their face. Thankfully, as a politician, that sign doesn’t pertain to me as I’m not selling anything. The trick, however, is to let people know that I’m not a solicitor.
I rang one doorbell and heard someone on the other side of the front door. I think they were looking at me through their peephole when I heard a man yell “No solicitors!” without even opening the door. “I’m not a solicitor!” I sort of yelled back through the door. “I’m a politician!”
There was a pause.
I wondered if he had gone away, and then he yelled back, “That’s even worse!”
Comments
It’s funny, but according to Princeton, a solicitor is a petitioner who solicits contributions or trade or votes.
The sign probably does not legally apply to you anyway.
“That’s even worse!”
That’s freakin hilarious!!
*laughs* That’s pretty funny. 
Hilarious, but seriously, as someone who has done a lot of canvassing, I strongly urge you NOT to knock on doors that have “No Solicitors” signs.
You may technically not be in violation of the law, but you’re still going to piss off whoever lives there—no one puts up one of those signs unless they take it seriously—which means you’re literally wasting your time and theirs. Worse, you may even *lose* someone who may otherwise have voted for you.
I know that I’ve voted *against* candidates who robocall me, even if I otherwise agree with their positions, due to a deep-set hatred of robocalls.
You’re a nice fellow and certainly seem well-intentioned, so I’ll let you in on a little secret:
“No solicitors” means we just plain don’t want to be bothered. Whether you’re selling a newspaper subscription, vinyl siding, your favorite religion, or your campaign platform, the sign on the door is a very strong indication that we’re not interested. At my house, it gets you a verbal reprimand and a closed door; on a particularly bad day, I’ll take down your name and make a point of remembering you when I have to make a decision regarding you or your organization.
Please, honor the obvious intent of the sign on the door, and you’ll get a lot farther with “curmudgeons” like me.
