(From left: David Greenfield, Jonathan Judge, Joe Lazar, Avraham Shlomo Tischler. Photo credit: Brian Hedden)

The Jewish Press organized a debate last week with the participation of four of the candidates running for the empty 44th City Council seat (click here for their coverage). The Orthodox news site Vos Iz Neias had video produced of the entire two-hour function (their analysis is here). All 12 video clips are reposted below.

And of course, I was there as both a resident of the 44th, and as the South Brooklyn blogger!

One of the participating candidates – Avraham Shlomo Tischler – has already been dropped from the ballot, following successful challenges to the meager number of signatures on Tischler’s petitions.

The Daily News portrayed the 18-year-old Touro College student as the truth-to-power candidate, as some sort of modern-day David striking fear into the Goliath campaigns of David Greenfield and Joe Lazar. It’s stories like this that make it hard for me to take the Daily News seriously.

Tischler’s performance at the debate was beyond dismal – he definitively demonstrated that he was not, in any way, even remotely qualified for the job of City Councilman. He even said at one point, “I will have a well-trained staff that I know will guide me through each and every step of the way… I will learn becoming a Councilman the right and proper way” (video clip 4 below the fold, 6:05). Actually, he said that a lot. As if voters were somehow looking for an intern to fill the vacancy in the 44th.

As for the grown-ups in the room…

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