The Latest: Dem blasts reported break-in at opponent office

BUENA PARK, Calif. – The Latest on the reported theft from a Republican assemblywoman’s Orange County campaign office (all times local):

11:30 am

Democratic Assembly candidate Sharon Quirk-Silva has blasted the reported break-in and theft at her opponent’s campaign office in Buena Park.

Quirk-Silva says no one from her campaign would ever participate in such an act and called for those behind the incident to be caught and punished.

Quirk-Silva says she called her Republican opponent, Assemblywoman Young Kim, and offered to contribute to establishing a reward to find those responsible.

Buena Park police took a burglary report from Kim’s office on Sunday involving electronic office equipment. Authorities declined to release additional details, citing the ongoing investigation. They say no suspect information was immediately available.

Quirk-Silva and Kim are vying to represent the 65th Assembly district in one of California’s most competitive legislative races. The district covers parts of northern Orange County.

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2:30 am

Thirty tablets and a laptop computer were stolen over the weekend from the Orange County campaign office of Republican Assemblywoman Young Kim, a spokesman said.

Kim’s campaign staff arrived Sunday morning to find that someone had broken through a door on the fourth floor of an office building in Buena Park, campaign spokesman Dave Gilliard said.

The building is new and largely unoccupied, and the electronic equipment was not visible from outside, he said.

“Somebody had to know that that office was up there and had to specifically target it,” Gilliard said Monday. “It wasn’t somebody walking down the street.”

The equipment was worth about $10,000, and a report was filed with the Buena Park Police Department, he said.

Kim, a first-term lawmaker, faces Democratic former Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva in one of California’s most competitive legislative races. The contest is one of a handful that will determine whether Democrats have an Assembly supermajority next year.

The tablets were used for neighbourhood canvassing and contained private information about voters, though thieves would need a password to access it, Gilliard said.

Kim used the theft in a fundraising pitch, asking supporters to donate to help her “fight these dirty tricks.”