'Totally Unprofessional': Volunteer Fire Chief, His Wife Charged For Stealing Muskogee Co. Campaign Sign

A volunteer fire chief and his wife are charged with stealing a Muskogee County Commissioner’s campaign sign, and then using it to create their own signs against the candidate. The commissioner says he understands opposition, but this is hard to believe.

Muskogee County District 2 Commissioner Keith Hyslop is seeking re-election and says he has spent nearly $7,000 of his own money on campaign signs.

Signs against Hyslop are posted around the county, urging voters to go against him if they value their fire department or home insurance.

The bottom of the counter-signs says they were paid for by friends and family of the Buckhorn Fire Department, a volunteer department near Webbers Falls. Commissioner Hyslop says he noticed a portion of the counter-signs were similar to his signs.

Hyslop says he got a call from a landowner that a sign in support of him went missing.

“I kind of had my suspicions because the person that ended up with it lives just probably like half a mile to the east,” Hyslop said.

Hyslop said he went inside the fire department and found his sign with some of the letters cut out.

“They actually had a fab shop going inside the fire department,” he said. “They had another sign against me on saw horses, buckets of paint, all the evidence was right there.”

Buckhorn fire chief Jimmy Webb and his wife, Robin, are both charged with two misdemeanors for having the missing sign.

An affidavit says the couple admitted to having the sign and “made not attempt to return the property.” It says “They deconstructed the sign, damaging it, in order to create a stencil for their own counter-political signs.”

Hyslop knows some people disagree with him and understands supporting other candidates, but says this is hard to believe.

“It’s totally unprofessional, especially as the chief,” he said. “He should be the leader. He should represent everyone. That’s very shady.”

Webb spoke with News On 6 on the phone, and said he had issues with how money has been spent in the county. He referred us to his attorney for comment on this situation, but his attorney’s office did not have comment.

The Muskogee County district attorney’s office also declined to comment.