Nevada candidate’s campaign signs hit with anti-Semitic vandalism

Vandals are targeting Assembly candidate Stephen Silberkraus’ campaign signs by drawing swastikas, Hitler mustaches and male genitalia on his face.

The anti-Semitic markings hit him hard — Silberkraus’ ancestors were killed in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. The former Republican assemblyman is running for the Assembly District 29 seat in Henderson.

“It’s very troubling,” Silberkraus said Tuesday. “It’s not something you think of when you think of Henderson. We’re a neighborly and friendly community. It’s disturbing and bothersome to see that.”

The defaced signs are a block from Greenspun Junior High School — named after a prominent Jewish family — and the city’s largest synagogue, the Congregation Ner Tamid, Silberkraus said.

Silberkraus, who is challenging incumbent Democrat Lesley Cohen, blames the vandalism on an increasingly divisive political climate in Nevada and around the country. Cohen has not put up any signs around the district.

The 19 campaign signs that have been stolen or destroyed were mostly in Green Valley and downtown Henderson. In some cases, vandals tore them up, cut off his head or cut holes in his head. Silberkraus said his signs were never vandalized this way in previous campaigns.

“I hope that it was just somebody who didn’t think about what they were doing and just being dumb,” he said. “The fear is that it could be someone who has those hateful feelings inside of themselves, and we don’t want that in the community.”

Silberkraus said he reported the vandalism to the Henderson Police Department in June and plans to file a report this week.

Cohen unseated Silberkraus two years ago by 212 votes.

Other Nevada Assembly candidates say they’re also experiencing more vandalism amid an extraordinarily tense election cycle.

Former GOP Assemblywoman Jill Dickman, who is running again for District 31 in Sparks, said a half-dozen of her campaign signs were cut down or went missing. That didn’t happen during her last two campaigns.

Dickman said she is considering putting up cameras to catch the vandals.

“I think it has a lot to do with the divided atmosphere in our country and in our state,” said Dickman, who is challenging Assemblyman Skip Daly. “It’s just sad. Let’s run clean campaigns and focus on the issues.”

Dickman said her opponent’s signs haven’t been targeted.

Both Assembly seats, held by Democrats, are considered top pickup opportunities for Republicans. In Assembly District 29, Democrats have a 1,291-voter registration advantage. Republican voters outpace Democrats by 2,233 in Assembly District 31, according to the Nevada secretary of state’s office.

Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4538. Follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.