I have been writing about the 39th City Council race, initially because my friend, Josh Skaller, a gentleman I have utmost respect for, was running. But by now I find I have an additional reason to write about it. One (and ONLY one) of Josh's opponents, Brad Lander, has proven himself so obnoxious (to quote other candidates in the race) that I consider him temperamentally unfit to be in the City Council. Although I suppose he would be neither the first nor last obnoxious City Councilman, but personally I would prefer almost ANY of the other candidates over Brad.

Brad's most recent obnoxious political attacks have involved the child of one of his opponents, Josh Skaller's son, Wolf. To me, this is low even for Brad, and I have written before about Brad's well-known pettiness, anger management problems and obnoxious behavior. Some people have accused me of focusing on minor points regarding Brad's personality rather than on issues (like Brad's anti-Israel positions, his alliances with homophobic and intolerant politicians like Dov Hikind, the fact that developers consider him their favorite candidate, etc.) But in some ways when a politician's personality becomes so obnoxious, it becomes an issue in itself.

Brad's attacks involving an opponent's son further convinces me that Brad's temper and personality ARE an issue in themselves in this race. Brad's attacks have brought a response from Wolf's mother, Kelly Skaller, in an email to Josh's supporters. Here is a mother's response in defense of her child against Brad Lander's attacks:

My husband, Josh Skaller, is running for City Council. We have an eight- year-old son, Wolf. By the time you read this, I may have given birth to our daughter, who is due any day now.

As you may know, Josh and I struggled to find the school that was most appropriate for our son and his special needs.

Unfortunately, one of my husband's opponents, Brad Lander, has decided to make our schooling choice an issue in this campaign. These attacks leave me no choice but to respond.  read more »