San Diego City Council candidate Joe Leventhal has become one of the most vocal proponents of allowing students to return safely back to school. As a parent himself, Leventhal has seen his own children struggling with distance learning, which countless other families can certainly relate to. This experience uniquely positions Leventhal to represent concerned parents, which is a central point of his campaign.
Leventhal’s Democrat opponent, Marni von Wilpert, has taken exception to the notion that he is better able to understand and take action on the concerns parents have. In a recent Facebook post, Wilpert accused Leventhal of sexism for arguing that his parental experience elevates his understanding of the needs and concerns of other parents.
“In an article published on Friday, my male opponent went on record and said that the fact that I don’t have children makes me less qualified to represent District 5 on the City Council,” wrote Wilpert. “This sexist attack is straight out of Trump’s playbook: he can’t win on the issues or his policies, so he’s personally insulting me instead.”
This bizarre response exudes a certain level of rage that simply lacks a reasonable basis. Leventhal’s only contention was that being a parent allows him to resonate with other parents—clearly a reality that upsets Wilpert, who is not a parent. The desperate comparison to President Trump has become a campaign staple for many local Democrats, with Democrat County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and candidate Terra Lawson-Remer routinely attacking Republican County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar as a “Trump Republican.”
Leventhal was surprised by Wilpert’s inflamed reaction, as most people appear to be. He took to Twitter to elaborate on his parental experience, while dismissing Wilpert’s absurd and unfounded attacks of sexism.
What I said to the UT was that my opponent doesn’t have the experience that my wife and I do managing distance learning because she doesn’t have kids in public schools. I would have made the same comment about any parent with kids in private schools.
— Joe Leventhal (@jleventhal) October 5, 2020
This makes clear that Wilpert’s attack is nothing more than a smear and character assassination, with the hope that voters will take what she says as gospel. While Wilpert will likely continue her attempts to generate controversy where there is none, Leventhal will surely focus on policies that address the needs of students, parents, and all other constituents in his district.
