Berliner Sweeps State Legislative Endorsements

District 1 County Council Member Roger Berliner is crushing challenger Ilaya Hopkins on endorsements. In addition to a gigantic list of state and local elected officials and community residents, he has now drawn the support of every state legislator from the three districts that overlap the vast majority of his council district. We are not aware of any elected endorsements of Hopkins. Following is Berliner's press release.

Councilmember Roger Berliner Endorsed by All Delegates from Districts 15, 16 & 18

Bethesda, MD (April 30, 2010) – Incumbent County Councilmember Roger Berliner’s re-election campaign got another big boost today when every member of the House of Delegates from the three districts that comprise virtually all of District 1 endorsed him. From District 15, Berliner earned the endorsements of Delegates Kathleen Dumais, Brian Feldman and Craig Rice; in District 16, Berliner was endorsed by Delegates Bill Frick and Susan Lee; and in District 18, Berliner was endorsed by Delegates Al Carr, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Jeff Waldstreicher. Councilmember Berliner previously announced endorsements by the three State Senators from Districts 15, 16 and 18 – Senators Garagiola, Frosh, and Madaleno.

Delegate Brian Feldman (D-15) explained his colleagues’ choice this way:

As the Chair of the Montgomery County House Delegation, I can tell you why your Delegates from District 15, 16 and 18 unanimously endorse Councilmember Berliner – he is a legislator’s legislator and we have the utmost respect for him. In this session alone, two bills were introduced in the state legislature modeled after landmark measures he sponsored on the County Council. When my colleagues have questions on energy and environmental issues, we reach out to Roger for his counsel. He makes us better and we need that type of teamwork more than ever in these challenging times.

Councilmember Berliner responded to the outpouring of support and recognition of his leadership qualities:

It is deeply gratifying to have the unanimous support of three of the strongest delegations in Annapolis. As Delegate Feldman observed, in difficult times like these, strong, trusted relationships between council and state leaders are more important than ever to protect Montgomery County and District 1 residents’ quality of life. These are also challenging times for our party, and unity is more important than ever. I am proud to support our District 15, 16 and 18 Delegations and am proud to have theirs.

In January, Berliner’s campaign announced more than 150 endorsements of local and elected leaders, a list which included United States Senator Ben Cardin, Attorney General Doug Gansler, and State Comptroller Peter Franchot.

“Stay tuned, folks,” Campaign Manager Heather Mills added, “There’s more to come.”

By Authority, Friends of Roger Berliner, Jeffrey Ross Williams, Treasurer.