ListNook

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +1897

I live here. Long story short, he screwed over his constituents by allowing the deannexation of half of the land in an entire town to a developer that is one of his biggest donors. His primary opponent was a local sheriff. The people here will never vote for the Democrat in the race and will continue to vote against their own interests. Edit: The Democrat in the race is Dr. Steve Luking. He's a nice guy and generally well-liked (even by Republicans). He just has an uphill battle. [Link](https://www.steveluking4nc.org/) if you are interested in donating to his small campaign.

1897

OkSir7411 Mar 25, 2026 +703

“Who cares if they are stealing our money (taxes) to give to their donors so long as they fight to put “thou shalt not steal” in schools, they are alright by me!”

703

s0ulbrother Mar 25, 2026 +125

Quick lets vote for the other guy from the same political party to avoid the issue that certainly won’t happen again

125

Button-Down-Shoes Mar 25, 2026 +23

Im convinced now it's boiling down to whomever they feel are a champion for themselves and their interests. The GOP are bad actors in the champion reality, but their projected image resonates as champion to a larger group of people.

23

starliteburnsbrite Mar 25, 2026 +20

Only a group of people with the critical thinking skills of a mushy turnip. What could their interests be that the Democrats aren't a valid option? Other than hatred

20

OkSir7411 Mar 25, 2026 +10

I’m a libertarian and because MAGA poses an immediate and existential threat to basic liberties, I’m voting Democrat (except I will vote Massie) for the next elections. The GOP has, and wants to grow, government beyond anything any Democrat has reasonably proposed. While I disagree with Democrats on principle with a number of issues, I feel as if there are more of them who are willing to debate civilly and are willing to listen to opinions. People like Talarico or AOC for example, I may disagree with on some issues pertaining to economics, but they are still better on economics than MAGA by a great deal.

10

DM_Me_TaTaz Mar 25, 2026 +2

Christian evangelicals will absolutely never ever ever ever budge on the idea that abortion is murder and it is just about 100% of what they care about. No matter who gets killed as long as it’s not a fetus which they say is a full human the second the sperm and egg meet.

2

Button-Down-Shoes Mar 25, 2026 -6

Who are the Democrats currently champions for?

-6

Zaseishinrui Mar 25, 2026 +3

Not being psychopaths i guess

3

progbuck Mar 25, 2026 +8

They are just racists who fear trans people. It's not much more complicated than that.

8

Button-Down-Shoes Mar 25, 2026 -6

Exactly. Dems are champions of a tiny minority group. Others don't even need to be bigoted. They just see that Dems aren't their champions.

-6

wewawalker Mar 25, 2026 +99

Yep, I’m here too — hey, neighbor. He also almost caused Eden’s only hospital to close because he refused to opt in on the Medicaid expansion money for years. Thankfully, the hospital was taken over by one of NC’s largest hospital systems and it survived. NC’s public school ranking also sank to somewhere in the bottom 5 under his rule, with funding going to vouchers to go to private (often Christian) schools regardless of the parents’ income. The list goes on, but I think you and I have hit on the ones that made people the most angry.

99

toothpicks-galore Mar 25, 2026 +9

i see the Dr and Berger faced off in 2024, and it was a by 13%, that is not outside the swings happening in other states, florida just had a couple that swung by about that much.

9

swttrp2349 Mar 25, 2026 +2

Calling it Eden's only hospital feels a bit misleading when Annie Penn hospital is a 15 minute drive south of Eden in the same county and they have a tertiary care hospital within a 40 minute drive; most rural counties here in NC only have one hospital. With that said, their combined acute care beds seem roughly on par with hospitals in other counties of similar population, and also I have no love for Berger.

2

wewawalker Mar 25, 2026 +3

You think I was being misleading? It is literally Eden’s only hospital. Annie Penn is in a different town and doesn’t deliver babies there. You might not think it’s a big deal if that hospital closed, but I think most people in that town would.

3

invalidreddit Mar 25, 2026 +55

dang... That's nuts

55

TooMuchPretzels Mar 25, 2026 +69

And the wife of the developer? The daughter of Dan Quayle.

69

akestral Mar 25, 2026 +47

"It's a big club..."

47

withanamelikejesk Mar 25, 2026 +25

“And you ain’t in it.”

25

DaoFerret Mar 25, 2026 +1

— George Carlin

1

BoardsofCanada3 Mar 25, 2026 +4

And the public sucks!

4

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +12

That's not accurate. Same last name, but they aren't related. She's a country music singer.

12

TheDakestTimeline Mar 25, 2026 +3

The guy that saved the nation when Mike Pence called him to ask if he should do a little treason?

3

invalidreddit Mar 25, 2026 +3

Until now, I had forgotten Dan & Marion had any children...

3

wewawalker Mar 25, 2026 +6

Really? I did not know this, but it tracks.

6

Soberdonkey69 Mar 25, 2026 +28

So you are telling me the locals enjoy f****** themselves over? And then they complain, but still allow themselves to get shafted in backside continuously?

28

nyutnyut Mar 25, 2026 +32

They are republicans.

32

joox Mar 25, 2026 +10

Screwing yourself over in order to laugh at other people's misery is the Republican way

10

Vankraken Mar 25, 2026 +2

While funny, it's not entirely accurate to say that they all just want to screw over others. A lot of them are a combination of being very misinformed as well as lacking the skills to understand the bigger picture stuff that goes on with government. It's still very much voting against their own interests a lot of the time but it's often not driven by spite but being mentally lazy.

2

aobmassivelc Mar 25, 2026 +2

Cool feelings

2

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +17

I think my neighbors in this district never thought what Phil Berger did could ever happen. It is a bit unprecedented that a state legislature would basically strip half the land out of a town in favor of one developer, after the Mayor and Town Council voted the development down. Where they fail to make the connection is that it was, is, and will always be Republican politicians in this state robbing them of their money, healthcare, education, and everything else. And quite frankly, Democrats in this state (with a few exceptions) seem to be allergic to more progressive ideas. So, they will vote for the guy that beat Phil Berger in the primary. His ideas aren't particularly great.

17

Soberdonkey69 Mar 25, 2026 +2

Is the education in your district quite bad then? I usually make the distinction that areas with poor education leads up to this kind of daylight robbery which makes it harder for new candidates to propose that they will make things better.

2

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +3

The district is fairly big as you might imagine. The area I live in has good schools, and there are other areas that aren't quite as good. I know that's like a non-answer, but it's basically like anywhere.

3

1stMammaltowearpants Mar 25, 2026 +7

Yeah, they're called Republicans

7

ObviousMight1350 Mar 25, 2026 +5

Entrenched bias…excruciatingly frustrating, regressive, lazy, nihilistic, counter-productive, and in need of an infusion of anti-cult positivity!

5

Sea_Working_80 Mar 25, 2026 +2

Vamos Steve!

2

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +3

Really good dude and he has that going for him. When I hear my neighbors talk about him, they'll say that they like him and respect him, but couldn't vote for him because he's a Democrat. It's just years and years of Fox News propaganda that they somehow think the Republican party is the party of small government and more freedom.

3

too-many-un Mar 25, 2026 +2

Thanks! I live in Maryland, but sent him a donation.

2

FlaMayo Mar 25, 2026 +1

Reminds me of the movie Eddington.

1

daysleeperchuk Mar 25, 2026 +1

I live in the area too and as I can read it, Sam Page put himself out there as a man of the people, (regardless of the problems that are happening within his sheriff's department)... Berger basically only ran a campaign on denouncing Page as shifty and having Trump's endorsement.

1

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +1

Absolutely, Page ran a great campaign. Only spent about $50K and was up against Berger's media blitz of $12M. But there's still a lot of bad blood with Berger around here.

1

No_Strike655 Mar 26, 2026 +1

You say people there will never vote Dem but looks like this same guy ran last time and got within 15 points on 2024. There have been some f****** crazy swings so it's a long shot but don't count it out

1

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 -13

How is the deannexation screwing over his constituents? Doesn’t the county continue to collect property tax anyways? According to this article, Berger overrode the town because they were blocking a housing project. https://www.wunc.org/politics/2023-09-13/nc-senate-votes-to-take-nearly-a-thousand-acres-out-of-guilford-town This article says the town blocked a proposal to build housing (including the town’s first apartments) on the site for a decade. Now it’s been annexed by Greensboro, who actually wants it to be developed. https://www.connect2nwguilford.com/articles/news/developer-couch-seeks-greensboros-biggest-annexation/

-13

loki2002 Mar 25, 2026 +38

The town didn't want it, the people didn't want it. Forcing it is him screwing them by going against what they explicitly stated was their desire. Usually developer deals like this come with multi-year or even decades long tax abatements. So, while some property tax may be paid it won't be as much as it should be for a long time.

38

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 -1

The city of Greensboro wanted it, and it benefited the region at large. It can be a good thing when the state overrides NIMBY opposition to housing that has benefits that outweigh the loss of community charter. It’s also illegal for local governments in north carolina to give the tax abatements you’re talking about.

-1

loki2002 Mar 25, 2026 +16

>The city of Greensboro wanted it, But it wasn't their land to begin with to want anything for; it belonged to Summerfield and those people did not want it. They got screwed over because a developer wanted to make money. It is no different than when the land was originally taken from Native Americans. Just because it was done "legally" doesn't change that it is stolen land. >It can be a good thing when the state overrides NIMBY opposition to housing that has benefits that outweigh the loss of community charter. Whether it is a good thing or not is subjective and won't be truly known for a very long time. Right now the only people it is good for is the developer who is about to make a shit ton of money off of the deal and anyone that developer made backroom deals with to get this done. This isn't low income housing or anything that will truly address housing concerns. It is going to be high dollar real estate with HOAs keeping the undesirables out.

16

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 -1

This town was created in 1996, when the land was “stolen” from the county by the local residents in order to stop development that was coming down the pike. The very same process happened to the county, when the legislature passed a bill that incorporated the town, stripping it away from the county. https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/1995/Bills/House/PDF/H576v5.pdf There’s a good history of how this all came to be here: https://www.theassemblync.com/politics/summerfield-greensboro-development/ This fight is specifically about the mostly white town of Summerfield not wanting apartments. “Brown said he was initially in favor of the proposed apartments, but his feelings changed over time.” “I came out for this apartment thing at the beginning, but after it got a little bit further down the line, it wasn’t what I thought I had seen,” Brown said. “It’s just going way too far, especially when we got duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes, things like that, and there are other options.” “As the area tripled in size in the 1990s—rising to 6,000 residents—the town eyed Greensboro’s slowly expanding northern border with unease. Race played at least a part. Summerfield remained 93 percent white in 2000, while nearby Greensboro was 38 percent Black. “

-1

loki2002 Mar 25, 2026 +8

There is a huge difference between forming a town within an existing county and the county taking land for a private interest deal. The only "public" that will benefit from this are the already rich. Also, the people that formed the town were county residents making the choice to form the town an action of the people in the county meaning you cannot define it as "stolen" within this context. Edit: I see you edited your comment to add quotes from the article you already provided a link to. Citing racial statistics of residents does nothing to suggest this was about race in any way. It may be or it may not be but simply because less black people live in Summerfield than Greensboro does not equal racial motives. Adding that into the article with nothing else to back it up is incendiary and poor journalism.

8

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 -1

Maybe the public that will benefit from this deal are also the people who will get to live in the 600 apartments that are being proposed, including 15% reserved as moderately priced. The North Carolina NAACP advocated for this project to move forward as well. They said, the town acted as a “passive participant in exclusionary zoning practices” that discriminate against people of color. The lack of affordable housing options was denying “fair and equal access” to “excellent schools and parks” and the “peaceful, safe, and attractive surroundings.” They also called the town segregated. The NIMBYs against the project of course deny being racist, but their words betray at least their ignorance of the systemic racism they perpetuate and the white privilege they have. “I don’t think it’s fair that anyone suggests that [we think] we’re better than others, or that white people don’t want any other races to come to Summerfield—that is not an issue at all,” said Susan Fields, a resident since the 1990s and a former apartment manager who opposes the apartment proposal. “Can’t help it if white people make a lot of money and built these huge houses; they went to college and got the right job, made the right decisions.”

-1

loki2002 Mar 25, 2026 +1

>Maybe the public that will benefit from this deal are also the people who will get to live in the 600 apartments that are being proposed, including 15% reserved as moderately priced. "Moderately priced" had no legal meaning. They could call any price "moderate". These are going to be high dollar apartments, condos, and town homes with HOAs and severe restrictions. They will do nothing to address the housing issues. >The lack of affordable housing options was denying “fair and equal access” to “excellent schools and parks” and the “peaceful, safe, and attractive surroundings.” They also called the town segregated. And they may be correct in that assessment but this project isn't going to address any of that. The same black people who couldn't afford to move to Summerfield beforehand are still going to be unable to afford to this new development. >“I don’t think it’s fair that anyone suggests that [we think] we’re better than others, or that white people don’t want any other races to come to Summerfield—that is not an issue at all,” said Susan Fields, a resident since the 1990s and a former apartment manager who opposes the apartment proposal. “Can’t help it if white people make a lot of money and built these huge houses; they went to college and got the right job, made the right decisions.” One person saying something. Racist is not indicative of the entire opposition of the project from the town at large. You will find individual racists within any group of people. Again, their reasons for not wanting the development at all may be motivated by racism overall but nothing you have cited shows that to be the case. If anything all you have shown is a class issue which this development will do nothing to address.

1

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 +1

Class issues are race issues in America. You keep saying building apartments won’t make a difference, but the fact is that even market rate apartments in North Carolina are majority non-white (52%) , while owner occupied housing is overwhelmingly white (72%). Here’s an article with similar (slightly older) numbers that broadly support my claim. https://carolinaforward.org/blog/who-speaks-for-renters/

1

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +6

The development is not in the City of Greensboro, but they definitely wanted it. The development is in the Town of Summerfield just north of Greensboro. After Phil allowed the developer to deannex his land from Summerfield, the developer annexed his land into Greensboro. Now, my town looks like a donut on a map. The developer bought the land knowing what the rules were in our town. He made a special carve out for himself through his friend, Phil Berger. No other developers got the same special treatment.

6

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 -2

Gasp, a developer didn’t want to follow your town’s rules that effectively ban apartments and require over an acre minimum lot size per home? The deannexation probably saved your town the embarrassment of being sued by the NAACP for violating federal fair housing law by preventing affordable dense housing.

-2

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +2

That's a bit of an oversimplification, but I don't necessarily disagree with the general spirit of what you are saying. I have plenty of criticism for the previous Mayor and Town Council as well. I'll just add some additional comments. The Town had already [rewritten](https://www.summerfieldnc.gov/vertical/sites/%7BC25D1811-CF89-415D-A5B8-0412F39A34CB%7D/uploads/Unified_Development_Ordinance_Revised_10-5-2023_-_Compiled_web.pdf) its entire housing ordinance to allow this developer to build with more density, and include different types of properties. The developer isn't going to be building affordable housing. The apartments will be well above the average rental price in the greater area and his existing single family home developments are probably the most expensive in the area. Keep in mind, not everyone in this town lives in a McMansion. One of the other challenges when the town rewrote the ordinance is water and septic. The Town is the largest in NC with everyone on well and septic systems. So, this new development project has to figure out how to get water and sewer here, and figure out who's going to pay for it.

2

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 +1

The maximum density of apartments the town allowed was 0.7 units/acre, and the maximum density overall that was allowed, including a density bonus for moderately priced housing was 1.15 units/acre. Regardless of the size of houses allowed on a lot, that means no more than 1.15 kitchens per acre. That is still such a low density, it is half the density of the average single family home density in North Carolina, and if it were a state, it would be the second least dense state after Vermont: less dense than places like New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, and even Alaska. For comparison, in California, in the most rural, low density parts of the state, the minimum density that has been determined is suitable for feasible apartment development is 10 units/acre. In large cities, the minimum density deemed suitable for apartments is 30 units/acre.

1

dt1664 Mar 25, 2026 +1

The Town does not have water and sewer, hence the absence of real apartments in the ordinance and the inclusion of quadplexes. Again, I live here and the issue is a bit more nuanced.

1

santacruzdude Mar 25, 2026 +1

The town is allowed to charge system development fees to developers to pay for that kind of infrastructure. See: https://morningstarlawgroup.com/insights/the-morningstar-march-2024-edition/

1

kootles10 Mar 25, 2026 +214

From the article: The top Republican in the North Carolina Senate conceded to his challenger Tuesday in a razor-thin primary race despite having President Donald Trump's endorsement. Phil Berger, the state Senate president pro tempore for the past 15 years, congratulated his opponent, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, in a race that went to a recount. "While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victory,” Berger said in a statement, NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh reported. "Over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have fundamentally redefined our state's outlook and reputation. It has been an honor to play a role in that transformation.”

214

murphmobile Mar 25, 2026 +128

Fundamentally “redesigned our states voting districts” is more like it.

128

melpatenator Mar 25, 2026 +69

Fundamentally fucked the entire state, this guy was an embarrassment!

69

akestral Mar 25, 2026 +20

Oh word, another humiliating loss for a Trump-endorsed MAGAt piece of shit? I'll take it.

20

arwinda Mar 25, 2026 +10

> despite having President Donald Trump's endorsement *because of having President Donald Trump's endorsement Fixed that for you.

10

Retlaw83 Mar 25, 2026 +165

I'm surprised someone with an endorsement from Trump is bowing out gracefully instead of pissing and shitting and crying and lodging lawsuits.

165

v-irtual Mar 25, 2026 +29

He did the pissing and shitting and crying and lawsuits. And still lost.

29

Ven18 Mar 25, 2026 +19

Particularly when a race is close enough that a recount is required in many cases and would be more than justified in requesting one.

19

otheraccountisabmw Mar 25, 2026 +27

They had one and he tried multiple other tactics to review votes.

27

maquila Mar 25, 2026 +8

This was a primary. They prefer to do that only when they lose to democrats.

8

wahoozerman Mar 25, 2026 +62

If this guy dummymandered his party out of a house seat in exchange for an endorsement by Donald and then didn't even win his primary, that would be golden.

62

wewawalker Mar 25, 2026 +17

Exactly what happened. That endorsement isn’t worth as much these days, it seems. lol

17

Lochbriar Mar 25, 2026 +11

Genuinely it was worth a lot for MAGA Primaries as late as a month ago, but it really seems like its completely evaporated. Polling even suggests he can't change the Texas Senate Primary now, its Paxton with or without Trump, and he definitely could have saved Cornyn if he had done so when it was originally reported that he was going to. The Iran War has crippled Trump's influence like nothing else has.

11

ElysiumSprouts Mar 25, 2026 +87

This is a "cut off your nose to spite your face" move for NC Republicans. Apparently he was a big fundraiser for GOP and they kicked him to the curb for a MAGA idolater.

87

melpatenator Mar 25, 2026 +40

No this is a good thing, Berger was head of the senate arguably the most powerful man in the state. Oversaw all the gerrymandering (NC is not recognized as a democracy), cuts to public schools and creating the voucher program, looser restrictions on gun laws. NC is the only state that hasn’t passed a budget for the year under his leadership. The end of his reign of terror can’t come soon enough

40

wewawalker Mar 25, 2026 +12

Yes, so gratifying to see. Now, if only one of these nations articles would mention the Dem who is running for the seat — Steve Luking.

12

unstoppable_zombie Mar 25, 2026 +103

Let's not act like Berger isn't a) a top tier piece of shit fascist bigot in his own right, and b) didn't bend both knees for trump. They traded maga for maga with a different hat.

103

kootles10 Mar 25, 2026 +16

Maybe some NC Republicans will discover their inner liberal

16

Pre3Chorded Mar 25, 2026 +15

I love that Trump picked the c*****-pushing guy and lost to the no c***** guy.

15

aztesla Mar 25, 2026 +5

See folks…despite what “they” like to say, your vote matters!

5

TripleJ80 Mar 25, 2026 +5

No take backs loser

5

Kannibelanimal1966 Mar 25, 2026 +4

At least he conceded

4

the_eluder Mar 26, 2026 +1

It actually shocked me.

1

ShibasScorn Mar 25, 2026 +3

Leslie Knope sends her regards.

3

Am_Deer Mar 25, 2026 +3

I thought if a republican lost they claimed it was rigged and sued?

3

Corpdecker Mar 25, 2026 +5

They can concede to other Republicans; this was a primary so it was OK. In the general election not so much :/

5

yulDD Mar 25, 2026 +2

A republican that concedes? Who knew

2

AcanthisittaNo6653 Mar 26, 2026 +1

Trump political endorsements are now the kiss of death.

1

Scummy_Waters Mar 25, 2026 +2

How does anyone look into those pink-rimmed, beady little piggy eyes and not see all the evil?

2

thefanciestcat Mar 25, 2026 +1

Interesting... Can we get Trump to endorse his own health?

1

IrrelevantLeprechaun Mar 25, 2026 +1

The blue wave has already begun and there's no stopping it now. Midterms are a shoe in for democrats now.

1

RoseCityHooligan Mar 26, 2026 +1

Why is this shit still so close? Republican voters still refuse to understand that the peodphile party does not care about them, huh?

1

WrednyGal Mar 25, 2026 -5

They should investigate voter fraud

-5

N.C. Senate's top Republican concedes in primary decided by 23 votes

💬 Send a Message

90 Comments