A History of Dirty Tricks?

A reader sent the following images from a MySpace page claiming that this is State Senate candidate Tony Strickland -- one picture clearly shows him very happy that he had stolen a few lawn signs during a political campaign. It certainly looks like him.

Years later -- perhaps his tactics and techniques have gotten a bit more sophisticated with mailers which prey on Proposition 13 fears and call other candidates names.

Unfortunately, the lower level dirty trick of stealing lawn signs will always be around. Candidate wives even do it too (although the following might have been a misunderstanding).

I got this from a different reader about the race in Goleta (with an appropriate YABBADABBA):

I was at the Storke Drive-In dropping off signs for John to put on the pole and I was talking to the guys working on the driveway. They told me a woman in a Bronze Honda SUV had come and taken the signs on Tuesday. As we were talking, the van pulled up and I walked toward my car and the SUV. I was going to get paper to write down her license number. She got out of the car and I said I understood she had taken our signs. She said she had permission to have signs there and we didn't so she was removing them. I explained that John had given us permission and that she was stealing. She said she only checked on the Drive-In and across from Costco. She asked my name and I told her and asked hers. It was Don's wife Deanna Gilman. The guys told me afterwards that she had also taken down the signs at the gas station on Hollister. The guys wrote down her license for me. It is YABBADABBA. The guys will be working the rest of this week and Monday of next so we should be safe during the day.

John came by and I told him she said she was going to call him to check that we had his okay. Neither he nor I expect that to happen. I guess they don't have any help and have to do it all themselves.

They are talking about the property owner of the gas station on Fairview who also owns the old drive-in property across from Home Depot on Storke. Deanna Gilman should probably check before she chucks...