A campaign sign for an Arizona Senate candidate was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Seth Blattman, who is Jewish, is running for District 23 in Scottsdale. On Friday, he learned someone drew a swastika on his forehead on a sign near Loop 101 and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard.
"Someone that I have never met, never seen, hates me for a reason I can't control because of who I was born to be," said Blattman.
Blattman said he lost family members in the Holocaust. For him, seeing that symbol of violence on his face was painful.
"I had a great aunt that I remember as a kid asking what the number on her arm meant," said Blattman.
Blattman works at his family's furniture manufacturing company. The Scottsdale native said he wanted to get into politics to help bring people together, the very opposite of the hateful attack on his campaign sign. On Saturday, Blattman said he hadn't filed a police report. However, vandalizing campaign signs is considered a crime in Arizona.
"I think this election season is a bit special in terms of the level of vitriol we are seeing," said Blattman.
But Blattman said he is hopeful this is an isolated incident and one that the Scottsdale community doesn't stand for.