As reported on Tuesday in the Brooklyn Paper Craig Hammerman has dropped out of the City Council race in the 39th district for personal reasons. "My family needs me right now," he told the Paper.

Yesterday I heard a rumor about this but couldn't substantiate it.

This is the second time that Hammerman has run for City Council in the 39th. He ran in 2001 and lost to Bill deBlasio. He's been district manager for Community Board 6 for 19 years and says that his "personal reasons"  will not keep him from continuing to do his job there.

Craig's decision to leave the race means there's one less Democratic candidate running for Bill deBlasio's seat – a crowded race that includes Brad Lander, Josh Skaller, Bob Zuckerman, Gary Reilly and John Heier. Steven DiBrienza has decided not to run.

I had breakfast with Craig last month for my interview/profile series on Breakfast-of-Champions. He seemed in great spirits and outlined many of the ideas he was planning to campaign on.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Craig Hammerman.
As District Manager of Community Board 6, Craig is the nuts and bolts
guy. He's the candidate, who understands infrastructure and really
knows what its like to serve the public day in and day out for 19 years.