It’s a tough choice for Johnson County voters. Should they vote for the candidate who steals his opponent’s signs or for the one whose wife and friends stalk the alleged offender and hide in the bushes to catch him on videotape?

In defense of Calvin Hayden and his wife, the two say they actually had witnessed John Toplikar, the current 6th District Johnson County commissioner, stealing some signs but were told by police that it would be impossible to cite Toplikar without additional proof. After losing more than $1,000 worth of signs and filing four police reports, Hayden’s wife and a friend decided to do some detective work. They reportedly followed Toplikar all day Saturday armed with a video camera and walkie-talkies and managed to catch him in the act in a video now posted on YouTube. Toplikar was cited for misdemeanor theft and will appear in court on Nov. 26.

You just can’t make this stuff up. Regardless of whom you support in the two Douglas County Commission races on the Nov. 4 ballot, we all can be grateful that the candidates are conducting a more dignified race than the one to our east.