Experts Say Candidate’s Lie Was the Greater Sin

Getting caught tearing down an opponent’s political campaign signs is bad enough. But lying about it is worse.

At least that was the general reaction Thursday from politicians and consultants upon hearing the news of Republican Assembly candidate Rich Sybert’s late night sign-removal mission and subsequent denial.

“I think we have hit a new low,” Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo said. “I don’t think anyone in public life ought to be lying.”

Added political consultant Debbie Creddick: “If it’s true, and it appears it is true, he not only broke the law, he lied about breaking the law. And most consultants would agree, for candidates, the most important thing is to never, ever lie.”

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Woodland Hills), who ran successfully against Sybert in 1996, said, “In every single circle imaginable in modern politics a wrongful act is a wrongful act. But lying about a wrongful act tends to cause more problems than the wrongful act itself.”

While Sybert struggled to explain what led him to rip down rival Tony Strickland’s signs, those who know him speculated on what this will mean for his campaign--and his political career. Sybert and Strickland are competing in the June 2 GOP primary in the 37th Assembly District, which includes Oxnard, Camarillo and Thousand Oaks.

“If this becomes the defining moment of his campaign, this will end it,” said John Davies, a GOP political consultant who has managed many Ventura County campaigns. “And if he loses this race it will end his political career. He has stepped down as far as he could go.”

Indeed, most politicians and consultants reached Thursday said campaign sign vandalism is nothing new in the rough-and-tumble world of politics. And using a video or a camera to try and catch the culprit in the act--the way Strickland did in this case--is not unheard of either.

The husband of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez pled guilty in 1996 to four misdemeanor charges of tearing down campaign signs belonging to his wife’s opponent, then Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove).

In that case, Dornan’s son lay in wait and caught Stephen Brixey III tearing down the signs on an Anaheim street corner.

But what stood out in Sybert’s case, observers say, is that he removed the signs himself, got caught, then lied about it.

“In any campaign, there are always complaints about people taking other people’s signs down,” said Schillo, who is running for reelection. “It’s happening in my race. . . . But I never suspected it was a candidate out there doing it. I always suspected it was a zealous committee member, or an enthusiastic supporter.”

But some say Sybert is not the only one whose behavior should be questioned. Davies faults candidate Tom Strickland as well for having his campaign workers follow Sybert around in the dead of night with a video camera, trying to catch him in the act.

“It seems to me there is a little bit of political entrapment here,” Davies said. “Maybe we need to have stalking laws on political campaigns.

“There is something terribly sick about both campaigns,” Davies added. “One guy is running around at 3 in the morning taking down signs, and the other guy is following him around with a video camera--and these guys want to go to [Sacramento] to make laws about health and welfare? It makes me embarrassed to be a Republican.”