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Condit family men are no strangers to criticism By LISA MILLEGAN BEE STAFF WRITER (Published: Monday, July 16, 2001) For more than 30 years, the Condit name has been familiar, first in Ceres, later in Stanislaus County. And long before the world ever heard of the relationship between Rep. Gary Condit and missing intern Chandra Levy, the men of the family received attention for triumphs and troubles. They include a politically active police officer, a repeat criminal offender, a congressman, a Baptist minister and an aide to the governor. No Condit family members could be reached for comment on the history, though the congressman's spokesman said last week that they are holding up under the recent controversy. "I'm sure this has been painful to all of them," chief of staff Mike Lynch said. "It's a strong family, and a fundamentally sound group of people." It is also a family that has faced controversies before, as chronicled in decades of articles in The Bee archives. Burl Condit, Gary's older brother, is a longtime Modesto police officer who served on the Ceres school board and ran twice, unsuccessfully, for Stanislaus County sheriff. Over the years, Burl Condit, now 55, has received recognition and criticism. Early in his career, he was named law enforcement Officer of the Year by the Modesto Civitan Club, in part for capturing a man who killed a Turlock police officer. During his 1986 race for sheriff, though, he was criticized for involving his brother in his campaign. Jim Trevena, who ultimately won the job, complained that Gary Condit, then an assemblyman, was using his campaign money to fund Burl's race. Gary Condit dismissed the remarks as political rhetoric. In 1993, Burl Condit was demoted from lieutenant to sergeant for secretly giving away a police dog he claimed that he had destroyed. Two years ago, he was one of several officers involved in a controversy surrounding the improper sale of Police Department guns. Burl Condit never was charged with wrongdoing, but a report by the district attorney said he may have improperly bought as many as nine guns. The person in the Condit family most often associated with trouble has been Darrell Condit, the youngest brother. Now 49, he has been in and out of jail since at least 1968, when he was arrested on suspicion of drug sales at age 16. Over the years, he has been arrested on charges ranging from armed robbery to forgery to theft. A recent account in the New York Daily News said Darrell Condit threatened political retaliation in 1998 against an officer who stopped him in Ceres for riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road. He had an outstanding warrant in Florida for driving under the influence at that time. "Condit told me that I was going to be in big trouble for arresting him on this warrant because his brother, Congressman Gary Condit, and his other brother, Sgt. Burl Condit, from the Modesto Police Department would get him out of this incident," the Ceres officer wrote in his report, according to the Daily News. Gary Condit, now 53, always has been the shining star of the family. He was elected to the Ceres City Council at age 23 and steadily climbed up the political ladder, serving on the county Board of Supervisors, then in the state Assembly -- and finally going to Congress. He has enjoyed popularity among voters in his conservative district, who have appreciated his prompt service and his public statements that he does not drink or smoke. But he, too, has received his share of criticism. In 1988, the California Journal, a magazine of state government and politics, portrayed the Ceres Democrat as having a double life. The article, based on anonymous sources, said Condit acted the part of a solid family man in his home district but was something different in the capital -- "a flamboyant party boy who uses his prestige as an assemblyman to fuel his busy social life." Condit adamantly disputed the article and said, after The Bee reported the Journal's report, that the magazine "has always been inaccurate." A year later, he told The Bee that he was the target of "yellow journalism" and "the cheapest kind of innuendo." Through the ups and downs, the Rev. Adrian Condit, the family patriarch, has always supported his sons. During a 1985 interview with The Bee, Gary Condit praised his father for being a role model. "He encouraged us to always stand by each other and stand by your commitments," he said. A chaplain at Memorial Medical Center for nearly 20 years, Rev. Condit has had a strong commitment to God and family. His commitment to the ministry was the reason the family moved to Ceres from Oklahoma in 1967. He served as pastor of Village Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Ceres for 16 years. Once, shortly after he arrived at the church, Rev. Condit wondered if he would have to leave the ministry because of his youngest son's troubles with the law. He offered to resign after Darrell was arrested, but his congregation rejected the offer and supported him 100 percent. During a 1985 interview with The Bee, he talked about how proud he was of Burl and Gary. "I feel like they're in a ministry in their own way and own right," he said. "We need good, honest men as politicians and we need good honest men sitting in our police cars that drive up and down our street." The newest Condit to take up public life is Chad Condit, Gary's son. Chad Condit, in his early 30s, was appointed special assistant to Gov. Davis in 1999 and is the administration's main point man on Central Valley issues. In March, the Stanislaus County Democratic Central Committee unanimously voted to ask Chad Condit to run to succeed Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, who must leave the Assembly because of term limits. Chad Condit ran Cardoza's campaign in 1996. Chad Condit said it was too soon to say what he would do about the Assembly seat. A 1985 Ceres High School graduate, Chad Condit got involved in political consulting for his uncle's and other people's campaigns while still in his early 20s. He told The Bee in 1990 that he was interested in politics because he has been around it all his life. "It seemed like a natural thing to do," he said. |
