Dec 1, 2023 By Mike Jones 5 min read

The husband of the losing candidate who challenged Washington County’s incumbent prothonotary is charged with theft after he removed a campaign sign for his wife’s opponent while cleaning up various yard signs a day after the election.

Bob Sabot faces one misdemeanor count of theft by unlawful taking of moveable property after Prothonotary Laura Hough witnessed him on Nov. 8 removing one of her signs that was placed in the grassy shoulder of Route 40 in Centerville Borough.

According to court documents filed by Centerville police, Hough recorded a cellphone video showing Sabot picking up her political sign located on the highway’s intersection with Spring Road, although the video apparently shows him giving it back to her when she asked for it. The charge was filed Nov. 16 at the office of District Judge Joshua Kanalis, and Sabot received the summons in the mail Wednesday.

He said Thursday that he was shocked to be charged with theft because he was out cleaning up political signs for his wife, Sandy, and picked up other signs along the way since the election was over. Democrat Sandy Sabot lost to Hough, a Republican who was first elected in 2019, in the race for county prothonotary during the Nov. 7 election.

“It’s the day after the election. We’re cleaning up signs. It’s now litter,” Bob Sabot said.

Hough told police the sign was valued at $7, according to court documents.

Sabot said he picked up a dozen signs for Republican Register of Wills James Roman during the day and contacted him to let him know he’d be dropping them off, along with various other signs for several Democratic candidates. Sabot said he pulled over when he saw the crinkled remnants of a sign for his wife by the roadway, and decided to pull Hough’s out of the ground as well since it was in the right-of-way. That’s when Hough sprang from her vehicle parked on a nearby street and pulled out her cellphone to record the encounter, Sabot said.

“I handed her the sign,” Sabot recounted. “She has her camera out the whole time and she’s filming me. I get back in my car and I leave. She must’ve called police.”

Hough did not respond to a phone message left at her office Thursday seeking comment about the situation or why she asked police to pursue charges against Sabot.

Sabot said the incident happened around noon as he was out and about looking for his wife’s yard signs. Around that same time, the Washington County Republican Party posted on its Facebook page a message urging candidates to go out and remove their campaign signs from public roadways.

“Candidates, please pick up your signs,” the Facebook post reads. “Unlike the Crime Party, we are the Party of Law and Order.”

As is the case with many political yard signs erected on public property, the placement of Hough’s sign along the right-of-way to Route 40 near an intersection appears to violate state Department of Transportation regulations.

“Per federal and state laws, unauthorized signs cannot be placed within the PennDOT right-of-way along state roads, interstates, expressways, and other limited access highways. Any Campaign Sign or banner placed within the right-of-way is considered an illegal encroachment,” reads a PennDOT brochure posted online.

PennDOT wrote in its guidance to political candidates that signs can reduce sight distances at intersections and distract motorists on the highway. It also states that “illegal signs can be removed at any time by PennDOT without notice to the owner,” although it does not elaborate on whether private citizens can do so as well.

“While the candidates and their surrogates are out cleaning up signs the day after the election, Laura Hough is sitting in her vehicle waiting for someone to take her sign,” Sabot said. “It’s in the right-of-way. Get it out of there. I would have gladly returned her sign to her, but she came running out at me.”

Sabot, 66, of North Franklin, still stands behind his decision to remove yard signs for other political candidates since he thought he was being helpful with so many of them placed alongside heavily traveled and dangerous roadways. However, Sabot said he won’t continue to do such favors in the future, including Thursday afternoon when he saw numerous campaign signs for Republican candidates remaining along Route 40 in Centerville while he was picking up the last remaining signs for his wife.

He plans to represent himself rather than hire an attorney when he goes before Kanalis for his preliminary hearing Jan. 3 at 10:45 a.m. Sabot, who is also a North Franklin Township supervisor, will be sworn-in to another term in office the day before his hearing.

“At this point, these signs are litter. And if I’m going to be prosecuted for cleaning up signs after the election, I’ll take my chances,” Sabot said of defending himself at the hearing. “I’m doing the right thing here.”