2024 council election candidates speak out after vandals strike posters, signs across NSW

Anti-Semitic graffiti sprawled on corflutes and election posters torched in the dead of night are among the brazen acts of pre-election skulduggery to strike council candidates in recent days.

Council election races are becoming increasingly grubby with vandals tearing down posters, setting them on fire and defacing signs with animal faeces in the lead up to this weekend’s poll.

Anti-Semitic graffiti sprawled on corflutes and election posters hung from trees in the dead of night are among the brazen acts of political skulduggery to strike council candidates across Sydney in recent days.

The corflutes for Liberal Party hopeful Rosana Tyler, who is the only Jewish person running as a lead candidate for the Inner West Council, were defaced at Camperdown Park this week with anti-Semitic graffiti reading “Zionist scum”.

“It’s targeting me personally and there seems to be an element in the community that loves inciting issues around the Middle East,” she said.

“These people are all about diversity and inclusion but then target me in this way.

Liberal candidate Rosana Tyler’s posters were vandalised this week.

Another poster was also defaced at Camperdown Park.

“It happened in a feral part of the inner west and I’m worried now that I can’t have my volunteers attend booths in that area because they’ll be attacked or spat on.”

Other candidates targeted across Sydney this week including the incumbent Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos.

Labor’s Ms Masselos said she had called police after vandals posted stickers with the word “corrupt” on her corflutes along Macpherson St and Bondi Rd.

Ms Masselos fell target to vandalism.

Ms Masselos said she reported the incident to police.

“We’ve had a bit of vandalism on our corflutes in the past but it’s never stooped to this level of mud-slinging before – that level of defamation is the furthest thing from the truth,’’ she said.

“If their aim is to get rid of my corflutes it won’t work because I’ll be taking the stickers off and putting the corflutes back up – I won’t take this lying down.”

Politics has also sunk to an all time low in the Georges River Council region after Labor candidate and high school teacher Elaina Anzellotti’s posters were defaced.

Elaina Anzellotti‘s posters were hung from trees.

Ms Anzellotti said the incidents made her more determined.

“It’s been horrific – whoever’s doing this has been smearing my corflutes with dog poo, hanging them from trees like nooses. drawing satanic symbols and penises on them,” she said.

“It has reached an all time low but I’m not a victim and if anything it’s made me more determined.”

Other candidates targeted in the lead-up to this Saturday’s election include the sitting mayor of Wollondilly Council Matt Gould, with more than 50 of his team’s corflutes sprawled with graffiti including with moustaches, eye patches and blacked out teeth on the image of candidates.

The defaced posters of Matt Gould’s team.

Newcastle mayoral candidate Ross Kerridge said his posters had also been vandalised with graffiti in the North Lambton area and had reported the incident to police.

In a brazen incident, Hawkesbury Council candidate Eddie Dogramaci said unknown offenders set his corflutes on fire this month.

“I had residents call me to say they saw my posters on fire and they had to run over with a fire extinguisher to put it out,” he said.

Pre-election vandalism was also reported in Newcastle.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in Australia before.”

Security is expected to remain tight at polling locations this weekend with some councils including Lane Cove organising security guards to man booths.

This publication can also reveal the NSW Electoral Commission is spending $2.75m on external contracted security guards for the election.

An electoral commission spokesman said security services were “primarily to provide ballot box security and, in some cases, security at voting venues”.

Originally published as 2024 council election candidates speak out after vandals strike posters, signs across NSW