Isaac Abraham
The Hasidic “fixer” has a lengthy resume of community activism — in fact, he was just named “Mayor of South Williamsburg” — but it remains to be seen whether his politics will gain any favor outside of his neighborhood. Campaign Web site: www.friendsofisaacabraham.com.
Q: Why are you the best man for the job?
A: It has to do with experience, it has to do with qualifications, it has to do with accomplishments. I can be your messenger, I can be your loudspeaker. I have been doing that unelected for 36 years.
Q: What are some of the things you achieved over those 36 years?
A: Being a paramedic, dealing with families at a time of need, a time of stress and a time of pain. Delivering packages to poor people for the Sabbath. For affordable housing, there has not been a single person in this district that has been an advocate like I have. I have dealt with transportation issues when I forced the city to cover the Williamsburg Bridge with tarp when they were removing lead paint. I fought against the city’s largest incinerator in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Q: Your opponents question your ability to lead outside of the heavily Hasidic, though small, portion of the district. How do you respond?
A: People who have known me and the issues that I have addressed know that the location doesn’t matter. Affordable housing is something I have worked on — it doesn’t matter whether it is Kent Avenue, Sixth Street or Court Street. The street name changes, but it doesn’t change my energy and effort towards solving the problem.
Q: Describe yourself in seven words or less.
A: If it’s not right, I’ll fight.

Steve Levin
As a community organizer and a former chief of staff to Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D-Bushwick), Levin has a solid resume and a lengthy list of endorsements — but opponents say his ties to the powerful Democratic Party Boss make him a machine candidate. Campaign Web site: www.levin2009.com.
Q: What makes you the best man for the job?
A: First off, it’s been a tremendous privilege for me over the past months to meet with so many wonderful residents and talk with so many remarkable people about the issues that they care about most.
Q: Fair enough, but why should people vote for you?
A: I have the experience, and the know-how to get results on issues like housing, education, and the environment.
Q: If you are elected, what’s your first priority?
A: I want to start working on developing a program to build housing for our seniors. I want to start working on developing programs to make sure that we have affordable day care in our city, and I want to start working on how we address our transportation issues.
Q: Such as?
A: Congestion, truck traffic, and increasing the capacity of our public transit system.
Q: Opponents say that your ties to Lopez make you a machine candidate. Are you your own man?
A: From day one, I will be an independent voice on the Council. I understand that the responsibility of an elected official is great, and the number one obligation is to the people that they represent.
Q: Describe yourself to Brooklyn Paper readers in seven words or less.
A: I am here to work for you.

Evan Thies
The former chief of staff to David Yassky made a name for himself as a North Brooklyn activist. It’s uncertain whether the former Community Board 1 member can gain traction in the southern portion of the district — but he did earn The Brooklyn Paper’s endorsement last week. Campaign Web site: www.evanthies.com.
Q: Why should voters pick you?
A: The next two years are going to be difficult. The city’s tax revenue is going to continue to shrink, and our neighborhoods are going to need a representative who has worked in local government, who understands how the system works and what our neighborhoods need. I am uniquely qualified because of my long record in local government and delivering results.
Q: What’s your top priority?
A: I am going to submit and pass a law to create 360-degree planning so that we always know exactly how much infrastructure we need when we are rezoning or developing large parts of our neighborhoods. We need to ensure that community plays a much larger role in the land use process.
Q: Opponents have alleged that you are part of the Democratic machine because of your experience working for Yassky. Would Councilman Evan Thies merely be Yassky 2.0?
A: I’m proud of the work I did with David. We delivered a lot of results that will benefit the community for years to come. But I am a candidate with his own ideas about how the city could be governed. And sometimes, I’ve differed with David on local issues in the past, and I’ve never been shy about it.
Q: What were some of those issues?
A: We disagree that affordable housing in major projects should be voluntary and up to the developer. I think that in large projects, affordable housing should mandatory. We also disagreed about housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I don’t want there to be any housing in the park, it’s land we’ll never get back.
Q: Describe yourself in seven words of fewer.
A: Hmm. Can I get back to you on that one? the campaign is going to have a lot of fun with this.