In a world full of cameras, a sitting state District Court judge in El Paso was brazen enough to steal one of her opponent's campaign signs.

Video showed then-Judge Laura Strathmann uproot the sign from private property, stash it in the trunk of her car and drive away. She was on the road to defeat.

The man who owned the property where the sign once stood figured in the fallout. He said Strathmann asked him to cover for her by claiming he wanted the sign removed. Voters ousted Strathmann in the Democratic runoff election.

Seldom has a campaign sign fired up voters like the one Strathmann swiped on camera in the light of day. The sight of a judge, minus her black robe, sinking to middle school campaign tactics was hard to ignore.

Dishonest candidates and their mindless followers might b

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