Berger entered the political arena to work for the Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy presidential campaign in 1960. In 1964 he ran underdog Jonathan B. Bingham's successful congressional campaign in the Bronx against Charles A. Buckley, a Bronx Democratic fixture and powerhouse. He served as executive assistant to Congressman Bingham from 1964 to 1968. He later managed the campaign of Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo, a former US Representative, in the 1969 New York mayoral primary and Richard Ottinger's bid for the U.S. Senate in 1970.
