Welcome to my campaign webpage. I am seeking re-election to my third term as your State Senator representing Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren Counties. For 4 years, I fought to protect law abiding working citizens as a criminal prosecutor in these four counties. In 2004, I took that fight to Raleigh as your State Senator. We are now facing a national economic crisis that imperils the American Dream. For the first time since the Great Depression , we face the prospect that thousands of North Carolinians will not be able to afford their own home and send their children to college. The collapse of the national financial system means North Carolina will have to increase its responsibility in helping people keep hope that they can achieve the American Dream if they work hard and play by the rules. If re-elected I will continue to fight for economic policies that are on the side of keeping the American Dream alive.
Senator Doug Berger
 NRA ENDORSES SENATOR DOUG BERGER
Berger receives NRA endorsement
BY WILLIAM F. WEST
DAILY DISPATCH WRITER
America’s gun rights lobby on Thursday endorsed state Sen. Doug Berger in his campaign for re-election on Nov. 4 and presented him with an honor previously given to just one other North Carolina lawmaker.
The National Rifle Association, in addition to giving Berger an “A-plus” rating, presented him with the “Defender of Freedom” award for supporting the rights of gun owners.
Berger, a Democrat from Youngsville, is the only General Assembly member to receive the award this year, with the previous recipient having been state Sen. David Hoyle, a Democrat from Gastonia.
And Berger on Thursday received a big, tall trophy from the N.C. Sporting Dog Association recognizing him as legislator of the year. The organization seeks to protect a person’s right to own, use and breed unaltered animals for sporting purposes.
The presentations were made in front of the Vance County Courthouse by NRA State Liaison Anthony Roulette and by Joe McClees, of Pamlico County and the lobbyist for the Sporting Dog Association.
Berger represents Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties.
Berger was asked afterward about receiving honors from the NRA – whose longtime spokesman was the now-deceased actor and conservative icon Charlton Heston – when Berger is blasted in newspapers and on Internet Web sites as being politically liberal and even socialistic.
Berger’s main opponent on Nov. 4 is Republican Chuck Stires, also of Youngsville. And Berger quickly told the Dispatch: “The criticisms that you raise are distortions by my political opponents. I have always been a strong supporter of gun rights.
“My daddy was a longtime – I believe a lifetime – member of the NRA, so I grew up in a family where my dad not only collected guns, but guns were the means of protection living in North Carolina.
“And I took the values my daddy taught me about the importance of the Second Amendment and I have taken them into the Legislature.”
Berger noted that the NRA endorsed him in his 2006 re-election campaign, when he defeated Stires.
Berger was asked by the Dispatch to respond about the fact that Stires is politically conservative and that Berger is often lampooned on the Web site of the Warren County Republican Party.
Berger argued that Stires has indicated he is anti-gun.
“It doesn’t matter where I stand on any issue. They go out and just tell people what they want to tell people. And they’ve misrepresented my position on guns – and they’ve known that all along,” Berger added.
Stires, when contacted by the Dispatch later in the day, said he has not made a statement about Berger’s position on gun rights.
“It may be a fabrication in his fantasy,” Stires added. “I have stated my position.”
And Stires said his stance is the Second Amendment states that people have an opportunity and a right and privilege to own and use guns.
As for Berger being backed by the NRA, Stires said, “I think, like any endorsement, it probably has
zero value. “I received endorsements and mainly it’s just to be sure I’m in line with the people who I will be working with,” Stires said.
“That’s a good part of what an endorsement is. Beyond that, it gets me probably no votes.”
At the same time, Stires said that “I was disappointed last time” about not receiving an NRA endorsement because he believes he could not have been more supportive of the Second Amendment than anyone else and because he is an NRA member.
Stires argued that he believes the real issues are Berger’s alleged disconnect from – or misalignment with – the needs and priorities of the state Senate district.
“Gun rights is not going to create a job. Gun rights is not going to educate another child. Gun rights is not going to provide better health care – and it’s not going to build a better road,” Stires said.
“Those are the things that the people are asking for – and there is no leadership on those,” Stires said.
Stires, in an interview in February announcing his intent to challenge Berger again, labeled Berger a “big government Socialist.”
Berger has maintained he is an “economic populist” who believes government should create opportunities for small businesses and workers.
Berger, Stires and a Libertarian candidate, Kira Howe of Oxford, are on the ballot Nov. 4.
Berger was first elected in 2004, defeating Republican Harold Frazier of Henderson in a contentious contest for the right to represent a redrawn state Senate district.
Contact the writer at bwest@hendersondispatch.com.
State Sen. Doug Berger, second from left, on Thursday received a trophy honoring him as legislator of the year by the N.C. Sporting Dog Association. Berger additionally received the “Defender of Freedom” award from the National Rifle Association. From left, NRA State Liaison Anthony Roulette, Berger, Joe McClees, who is a lobbyist for the Sporting Dog Association, and Derald Hafner, who is a local volunteer for Grassroots North Carolina, which defends the Second Amendment in the state.
DAILY DISPATCH / WILLIAM F. WEST
|
