Josh Skaller For City Council

"Josh has always fought for fiscal responsibility and the progressive solutions needed to reform city government"

--Jim Dean
Chair of Democracy For America (DFA)

Carroll Gardens Supports Josh Skaller And SuperFund Status

Photograph by Gabriele Gorden

Community Groups Join Josh Skaller: "Fight the Misinformation, Support the Superfund"

Carroll Gardens Community groups joined City Council candidate Josh Skaller on Friday with a simple message: Ignore the propaganda - listen to the community.

Toll Brothers, the developer commissioned to build large apartment complexes along the bank of the Canal and its infamously contaminated waters, has recently launched a public relations campaign distorting the truth about the proposed EPA Superfund, which would use federal funds to clean the canal thoroughly before allowing development.

"Toll Brothers is a huge firm with huge resources," said Marlene Donnelly, a member of FROGG. "We're a neighborhood group of people who live and work around the Gowanus Canal. We want the Canal to be cleaned because it's our backyard."

Toll Brothers, a Pennsylvania-based luxury home builder, has hired canvassers to go door-to-door in Carroll Gardens, making the case against the Superfund and in favor of the city's plan to clean the Canal.

"We want to leave our children and our grandchildren something better than what is here today," said CORD member Rita Miller. "We believe that the only way we can achieve this is with Superfund designation."

Education Alert: Josh Skaller Statement on NYS Assembly Mayoral Control Bill

June 17, 2009 - Statement from City Council Candidate Josh Skaller (D-39th District) on the State Assembly's Passage of a Mayoral Control Bill

"The New York State Assembly bill addressing Mayoral control of New York City's public schools makes some progress, but it falls short of real reform. The Mayor will still make decisions on nearly everything, and parents will still not have a real voice in the schools. Given the current dismal high school graduation rate and the impending drastic cuts to education programs in next year's budget, it is even more important that parents have a meaningful voice in the public education system.

Howard Dean Endorses Josh Skaller

Photograph by Gabriele Gorden

Howard Dean knows grassroots.

Howard Dean knows progressive politics.

Howard Dean knows what New York City needs to make reform happen.

That’s why Howard Dean has endorsed Josh Skaller for City Council in Brooklyn's 39th District.

Watch the full video of Dean and Skaller's remarks. Hi-Def. or Normal-size.
Watch the shorter video of Dean and Skaller's remarks. Hi-Def. or Normal-size

On the morning of Tuesday, June 9, dozens of Josh’s supporters gathered at the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats’ office to welcome a champion of progressive politics.

Josh Skaller's Statement on the Holocaust Memorial Park Controversy

I am saddened that some oppose honoring all Holocaust victims. The Holocaust has a deep meaning for all Americans. The memorial should recognize everyone who lost their lives in this terrible chapter of human history. By seeing and acknowledging the full scope of this tragedy, we do our part to make sure it doesn't happen again.

We were vividly reminded of the universality of the Holocaust by the killing that recently took place at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. An African-American man protecting this museum was killed by a man filled with hate for Jews, Blacks and others. Such sacrifices should shame those who would treat evil as anything less than universal and universally wrong.

I ask all parts of the 39th Council District where I reside, from Carroll Gardens to Boro Park, to celebrate our diversity, understand our unique cultures, and acknowledge the episodes of our past, both painful and glorious. By uniting together, we can learn from past atrocities and build a more tolerant Brooklyn.