Denis v. Berliner

I watched the rerun of the debate between incumbent Howard Denis (R) and challenger Roger Berliner (D), the two candidates for the District 1 (Bethesda-Chevy Chase-Potomac) Council seat. The debate was moderated by Charles Duffy and held in the Friendship Heights village hall. I didn't envy Duffy who had to summarize questions from the audience even as he attempted to moderate exchanges between these aggressive candidates.

Roger Berliner made party affiliation his central theme of the debate. Democrat that I am, I didn't find it terribly convincing. This election will determine whether there is one or no Republicans on the Montgomery County Council. Unlike in congressional races, Denny Hastert doesn't get to hold on to the Speaker's chair if Denis wins reelection. Denis also subtly was able to get across the idea that it hasn't hurt Montgomery to have someone able to talk to Republicans on Capitol Hill and Annapolis on local issues.

Denis surprised Berliner, who relentlessly attacked Denis for being a Republican, by bringing up that Berliner had donated $500 to Republican House Majority Leader Roy Blunt. Denis also effectively countered by pointing to his many endorsements from Democrats and from organizations that normally endorse Democrats, like Progressive Maryland, the Montgomery County Education Association, and anti-growth Neighbors for a Better Montgomery.

The major issue difference appeared to be over the Purple Line. Denis is opposed to building it next to the Georgetown Branch Trail while Berliner is willing to build it that way but will fight hard for more palatable version, though he somewhat undermined his own arguments when he accurately pointed out that the money for a below-ground version is unlikely to materialize even as he rightly argued for more public transit.

However, I think the primary election results suggest that opposing the Purple Line is more likely to be a voter winner in District 1. Action Committee for Transit, the pro-Purple Line group, had little success in the Democratic primary. The most ardent pro-Purple line politicians, Steve Silverman and Hans Reimer, both went down to defeat. Only one member of the District 18 legislative delegation, where ACT most aggressively campaigned, supports an above ground version of the Purple Line.

Still, Berliner is a Democrat is what is looking like a very good Democratic year. If I am not mistaken, I don't think Denis ever won a race for the State Senate or the Council by more than 55 percent in his whole career. Denis may need a good deal of luck to combine with his past hardwork and constituent service to return to the Council in 2007. Berliner continues to campaign aggressively and is not going to allow Denis to gently slide into reelection.