It’s tricky to know if there’s anything which would help without knowing what forum features are available. That thread did get somewhat heated, and the flagging feature didn’t seem particularly constructive- are there any consequences for misusing flags? Some sort of timeout for the whole thread might have helped cool things off a bit instead? Who knows.
I actually think it’s part of a wider problem where local politicians should be setting a better example, which was the thinking behind an earlier thread…