Can a government entity prevent the use of its logo in a blog article?

The law says that the copyright monopoly we the people grant to authors to protect their creative works is not absolute and that we all, in some circumstances, may freely use those works -- even if the author objects. The law explains that much of that free use will be for "criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research" and that certain factors need to be considered before it's held that any such free use is fair.

The law also says that the person who claims his or her use is fair shoulders the burden to prove that it is but that the copyright owner must first register the work's copyright with the Copyright Office before an infringement lawsuit can be filed. See http://bit.ly/VCm0e

Now it's time to face facts: You do not need to use the city emblem to publish 'general, informational stories" about city council candidates. You simply want to. Is the City petty and frivolous in its demand that you stop? Of course. But it has the right to make that demand and you have the right to expose its pettiness. Will it sue to stop you? Very likely not. But it could send a DMCA ("Digital Millennium Copyright Act") take down notice to your service provider and demand that every one of your webpages containing its emblem be taken down.

I don't know if a court would consider your use of the city emblem "fair" or not. And neither do you. If you were reproducing the speeches given by city council candidates (which are copyright protected by the candidate), then I'd be in your corner. But not for publishing the city emblem. Fighting city hall is fine -- and sometimes our duty -- but I suggest that fighting over silly stuff just distracts us from what's important.