The Libertarian Party of New York mourns the loss of longtime party activist and candidate, Donald “Don” Silberger, who died on July 22, 2025, at the age of 95.
He was deeply involved in the Libertarian Party of New York, serving as a candidate for statewide office multiple times, a Presidential Elector in several national elections, and holding leadership roles locally and on the State Committee, including a term as a Vice-Chair of the party.
Silberger was born on February 26, 1930, in York, Pennsylvania and graduated from York High School. He earned a scholarship to Harvard University and attended medical school, later teaching high school physics and chemistry for two years in East Cleveland. He then pursued graduate studies at the University of Washington, and earned his PhD in mathematics.
He became a mathematics professor at SUNY New Paltz, where he also served as faculty advisor for a college libertarian group in the late 1990s. He discovered libertarianism around 1991 and quickly became an active member of the Libertarian Party.
He ran for public office several times as a Libertarian. In 1998, he was the party’s nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York alongside gubernatorial candidate Chris Garvey. He ran again for Lieutenant Governor in 2006 with gubernatorial candidate John Clifton. In 2004, he was the party’s candidate for U.S. Senate. He also served as a Libertarian Presidential Elector for Harry Browne (1996, 2000), Michael Badnarik (2004), and Bob Barr (2008).
Within the Libertarian Party of New York, Silberger served in many leadership roles. He was Chair and State Representative for the Hudson Valley Libertarian Party during the 1990s and early 2000s. He was elected three times as a Member-at-Large of the State Committee (2001-2002; 2006-2008) and later served as Vice-Chair of the LPNY from 2010 to 2011.
In his 2004 U.S. Senate campiang website autobiography, he described himself as a “former self-declared liberal” who realized that libertarianism better represented his long-held values.