Not many people know more about sign babysitting than Bill Jemkins.

Jemkins sat next to me on the bus from Tacoma to Vancouver and the first thing I noticed was his Teamsters International Brotherhood jacket and his Barack Obama pin. He’s been working with campaigns for the last 14 years, for politicians such as Senators Marie Cantwell and Patty Murray and former governor Gary Locke.

“I buried signs over 120 miles of road and babysat them three days a week, otherwise they’d have me buried,” Jemkins said, jokingly, of Locke’s campaign.

When workers from the other party would put their candidates’ sign in front of his, Jemkins would inch up the road re-planting them in front. Some nights he’d work four to five hours.

At the mention of Cantwell’s campaign, Jemkins followed each sentence by, “which I regret.” He was infuriated when Cantwell didn’t send out thank you letters, like Locke did. Jemkins said he worked on King County Executive Ron Sims campaign 13 years ago, and to this day, he still gets a hug when they meet.

“It’s important you take care of the people who take care of you, not snub your nose at them when you get elected.”

Gov. Christine Gregoire and husband Mike are good at thanking, Jemkins said. They recently invited him to a private lunch and in 2004, the family sent him Christmas cards.

Driving past Longview, Jemkins pointed out the window to an area where he once did signing for Dixie Lee Ray, the state’s first female governor.

“You see that hill up there? I climbed over that guardrail, up that hill and buried a sign there four years ago.”

At eighty-something-years-old, Jemkins is still signing, even with an injured toe that was almost removed twice. He set up signs between Aberdeen and Longview because Republicans captured the area in 2004 and he was scared they’d take it again.

Four years later, Jemkin’s Dixie sign is still there. He said it’s because, “the state people were too lazy to climb up there and get it.”

“Now I’d never be able to climb those hills, I’m almost out of commission. I can’t believe it’s still there,” he said, beaming.

Jemkins at Gregoire’s Vancouver speech