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The usually humdrum Montgomery County Council District 1 election recently got more colorful.
Jim Kirkland, who also goes by Jim Strychnine, and who is challenging incumbent Democrat Roger Berliner (Potomac- Bethesda), publicly opined that Jewish people are responsible for most local code enforcement complaints prior to launching his campaign.
"In my personal experience, a lot of the complaints are made by Jewish folks," Kirkland repeated in a long, meandering and, at times, hostile interview with Washington Jewish Week. "The county has become what I call a sterile, nerd-zone ... a sterile nerd-zone devoid of quirkiness and visual variety."
Kirkland's views first came to light on Oct. 15, when The Washington Post published a story about the candidate. While speaking to Kirkland for a standard county council candidate profile, something Kirkland said reminded the reporter of an email he received on Feb. 5, in which the same man complained about a fine his 86-yearold mother received for incomplete repairs on the roof of her house in North Bethesda.
"The obvious complainant is usually Jewish," Kirkland wrote. "We have concluded that this amounts to an unacknowledged (Jewish) policy of forcing blue-collar residents out of the county. Sounds harsh? MAYBE IT'S TRUE!"
Kirkland called the Post's article a hatchet job...