All he needed was 765 signatures and a dream of becoming the first 18-year-old city council member.
But Abraham Tischler’s dream went up in smoke Tuesday when the city Board of Elections determined that several hundred of his signatures were invalid.
As a result, the board tossed him from the upcoming four-person race for the 44th District City Council seat.
Tischler’s signatures were challenged by both front-runners — Joe Lazar and David Greenfield — in the March 23 special election.
Tischler submitted 1,408 signatures, with 765 needed from eligible voters in the district to get on the ballot.
In one of the challenges, the Board of Elections found Tischler had only 715 proper signatures. In the other challenge, he had only 421 legal signatures.
Tischler could not be reached for comment at press time.
Both Lazar spokesperson Gary Tilzer and Greenfield said they issued their respective challenges because their campaigns expended a lot of time, money and volunteers to get the proper number of signatures and it wasn’t fair that another potential candidate that didn’t put in the same amount of work be allowed on the ballot.
Tischler’s exit came after a less-than stellar performance in last week’s candidate’s debate, held at the Boro Park YM-YWHA, 4912 14th Avenue and sponsored by the Jewish Press.
At that debate, Lazar, Greenfield and Jonathan Judge all gave strong showings with no clear-cut winner.
Lazar presented himself as the most experienced candidate in government and especially experienced with budget issues, working with both the city’s Department of Buildings and the state Department of Mental Health.
Greenfield presented himself as an experienced policy person, whose coalition organization TEACH NYS successfully led to a $330 tax check for parents of Yeshiva and other private schools.
He stressed that Brooklyn needs a city council person that can deliver for the community with results.
Judge presented himself as a conservative Republican and fiscal conservative who understands the needs of the large Jewish community in the district, but also wants to be inclusive of other cultural and ethnic groups that also reside in the district.
Lazar, Greenfield and Judge all said they opposed congestion pricing, would fight for an increase of services in the district and fight against what they believed was a disproportionate number of traffic tickets in the district.
The 44th City Council District includes Borough Park, Midwood and Bensonhurst.
