Elrich Blasts Berlage, 1998

Council Member Marc Elrich finished first in this year's at-large primary, but he had to travel a long, hard road to get there. Elrich ran for the District 5 council seat in 1990 and 1998 and at-large in 1994 and 2002 before finally winning in 2006. Perhaps his toughest race was in 1998 against District 5 incumbent Derick Berlage, whom Elrich labeled a "total hypocrite" for changing his position to accept developer contributions. Here's a mailer Elrich sent out criticizing Berlage's attendance record and his operating a law practice on the side. Berlage won the primary by a 7,954 to 6,422 vote.