Roger Berliner (born February 12, 1951) is a former member of the Montgomery County Council from 2006 to 2018. He represented District 1, which includes parts of Poolesville, Potomac, Bethesda, and Chevy Chase.
Early years
Berliner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 12, 1951.
Berliner earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and a Juris Doctor from the McGeorge School of Law of the University of the Pacific.
Berliner was an attorney specializing in energy law and a partner for Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP. Some of the clients he represented included Canadian gas producers, the Government of Guam, and Nevada Power Company. On behalf of his client Pacific Gas and Electric, Berliner sent a petition to the Maryland Public Service Commission proposing to give customers the option of paying an additional four dollars per month to fund the planting of trees to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Berliner is the president of Berliner Law PLLC.
Early political career and activism
Berliner served as legislative director for United States Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio. He served as senior policy advisor for Congressman Henry Waxman of California. Berliner worked as director of Congressional liaison for the Carter administration.
Berliner was the Maryland coordinator for Bill Bradley's presidential campaign in 1999.
Montgomery County Council
2000 election
On January 11, 2000, Betty Ann Krahnke announced that she would resign from representing District 1 on the Montgomery County Council. Krahnke had been battling Lou Gehrig's disease for the preceding 18 months, and she was unable to walk or speak. Krahnke said she would leave office after a special election would be held to fill her seat. Krahnke had represented District 1 since the Council was changed in 1990 to include district seats.
Berliner announced that we would run for the seat on the Council. Tony Puca also ran for the seat. Puca was a life insurance agent who was known for volunteer work with elders and people with developmental disabilities. Ilene Solomon, a special education teacher, also ran for the Democratic nomination. Howard A. Denis, former state senator; Casey Aiken, a real estate attorney; Sharon Constantine, a local activist; Scott Dyer, a computer engineer; and Mary Kane, an attorney.
Berliner supported transportation improvements including building the Intercounty Connector. Baptiste preferred improving transportation without building the Purple Line and Intercounty Connector.
Incumbent Krahnke endorsed Democrat Patricia Baptiste and donated her remaining campaign funds to Baptiste's campaign, which alarmed local Republican party officials.
Baptiste won the Democratic primary by 17 percentage points. Denis won the Republican primary and went on to win in the general election.
2006 election
In January 2006, Berliner announced he would run to represent District 1 on the Council again. In his announcement, Berliner said he would increase regulation and oversight of development, reduce traffic, and modernize public schools. Berliner proposed mandatory sustainable building standards for government buildings. He supported an unimplemented law giving a tax credit for purchasing hybrid vehicles and a tax surcharge for purchasing vehicles with low fuel efficiency.
Duchy Trachtenberg considered running for the District 1 seat, but Trachtenberg ended up running for an at-large seat instead.
Berliner ran against incumbent Howard A. Denis. Neither faced opposition in the primary election.
Berliner said that, as a Democrat, he could do more for his constituents than Denis, the only incumbent Republican. Berliner said that Denis' sway in the Council was diminished because of his party affiliation, and that residents would be better represented by a Democratic Council member. Berliner criticized Denis for being a populist, rather than someone with consistent principles. Berliner criticized Denis for hiding the fact that he had sought to be a delegate for President George W. Bush in 2004, while Berliner had helped John Kerry's presidential campaign in Florida.
Berliner criticized Denis' vote to lift a tax on developers that was intended to pay for new roads and schools to ease the impact of development. Berliner also characterized Clarksburg's development problems as a failure by Denis. Denis said he had advocated for anti-developer bills, such as one to prevent developers from destroying large trees to build mansions.