Council District 1 challenger Ilaya Hopkins has sent out this negative mailer against incumbent Roger Berliner.
The mailer quotes MCEA political strategist Jon Gerson as saying of Berliner, “…we wish Mr. Berliner had been a stronger voice for our schools and students.” Gerson’s full quote from the 8/13/09 Potomac Almanac article sourced by the mailer was, “There have been times we wish Mr. Berliner had been a stronger voice for our schools and students. His position on next year’s school budget will be telling.” (Incidentally, your author was quoted in the same article as saying, “He’s one of the more civil personalities on the Council.”)
The problem with spotlighting a quote from Gerson is that Berliner has been endorsed by MCEA, so his performance on the last budget must not have been so bad. MCEA President Doug Prouty sent us the following comment on the mailer:
In contrast to a recent mailer from his opponent which misrepresents our position, the Montgomery County Education Association wants all voters to understand that Roger Berliner has our unequivocal support. Roger has been a steadast supporter of the students and employees of the Montgomery County Public Schools during his first term as a County Council member. His advocacy for our schools have helped make the public schools in Maryland first in the nation two years in a row, according to Education Week. The use of an incomplete and outdated quotation from a member of our staff in the mailer reveals more about the means to which his opponent will stoop than it does about Roger. MCEA is proud to support Roger and we look forward to working with him to keep our schools strong in the next four years.
Just tell us that most campaigns could not have seen that coming.