Two years ago, Council Member Roger Berliner parted ways with his first Chief of Staff, Reggie Oldak. But Oldak is getting the last laugh by co-sponsoring a fundraiser for none other than his opponent, Ilaya Hopkins!
Reggie Oldak is a Georgetown-educated tax lawyer and women’s rights advocate who finished a strong fourth for a District 16 Delegate seat in 2006. Right after he was elected, freshman Council Member Roger Berliner hired her as his confidential aide, or Chief of Staff. But Oldak had not given up on her political career quite yet. She wrote a guest column in the Gazette on tax policy in 2007 (which does not even mention her employment by Berliner) and ran for a Delegate appointment that same year. Berliner released Oldak in 2008. The story in Rockville was that Oldak was not well trusted to move her employer’s agenda exclusively when she may have also had her own. Oldak decided back in January not to run for Delegate again but she still remains politically active.
And she has not forgotten her old boss. Oldak has joined an all-star cast of District 1 women including former Planning Board Member Pat Baptiste, Montgomery Women activists Jenny Sue Dunner and Julie Davis and realtor Jane Fairweather to co-host a “Women for Ilaya” fundraiser tonight. See Hopkins’s email to supporters below.
This is delicious payback, of course, but there could be more. Oldak worked for Berliner for 18 months. How much does she know about him? Is there anything… of particular note?
If there is, District 1 voters may soon find out. Ilaya Hopkins will see to that!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Former Aide Gets Even with Berliner
Friday, January 15, 2010
Reggie Oldak Decides Against Delegate Run in District 16
Following is a press release from former District 16 Delegate candidate Reggie Oldak, who ran a strong fourth in 2006 but has decided not to run again this year.
REGGIE OLDAK ANOUNCES SHE WILL NOT RUN FOR MARYLAND STATE DELEGATE IN 2010
Bethesda, MD – January 14, 2010 – Today, Reggie Oldak announced that she would not be a candidate for Delegate from Montgomery County’s District 16 this year. Her statement follows:
“I ran in 2006 because I believed that serving in the General Assembly would be the most effective way for me to work for social and economic justice for Maryland’s women and their families. I am very grateful for all of the support I received at that time, and I sincerely appreciate those who have encouraged me to run again. I especially want to thank the volunteers who helped me come close to winning in a very intense 10-week campaign.
But the timing is not right this year. As senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, I now focus on federal tax, budget and anti-poverty policy for the benefit of low-income and other women who are economically vulnerable – including single mothers, women of color, and the elderly. I find the work very fulfilling. More important, I believe I am in a position to make a difference.
Poverty is a women's issue. More than 14 million women – one in eight – live in poverty in this country. A report prepared by the Montgomery County Commission for Women in 2008, while I was president of the Commission, found that the poverty rate in Montgomery County was only three percent – but the poverty rate for single mothers with young children was ten times higher, 30 percent.
I will continue to advocate for women’s rights in Maryland, and I remain active in Montgomery County, especially through service on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington and through my work on the Commission for Women. And I will continue to support candidates who champion women’s rights in Maryland.”
CONTACT: Reggie Oldak, reggie@oldaks.com, 301-602-3923
Monday, December 17, 2007
Rumor du Jour
Reggie Oldak and Don Mooers are planning to run a slate for the House of Delegates in 2010 and are currently looking for a third person. Both competed unsuccessfully for the recent vacancy caused by Del. Marilyn Goldwater's resignation which went to Del. Bill Frick. Oldak was endorsed by the Washington Post and came in a strong fourth for the House in 2006. After the election, she took a job as an aide to newly-elected County Councilmember Roger Berliner. Don Mooers, an attorney, ran for Congress unsuccessfully against then Rep. Connie Morella.
If the rumor is true, it would make for the most interesting race in District 16 in years. Oldak and Mooers would both be strong candidates. In contrast, the incumbents have not faced strong challenges, running on full incumbent slates. Like Bill Frick, Del. Susan Lee also arrived in the legislature by appointment in 2002. Del. Bill Bronrott also has not faced a strong challenge since he won the seat vacated by Del. Gilbert Genn in 1998. Bronrott won at least partly because of a backlash against Genn's attempt to give the seat to a friend by announcing his retirement from the House after the filing deadline for candidates and has also not faced a strong challenge.
