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Sam Page, whose shocking victory in this year’s Republican primary ousted longtime North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, is now suing Berger’s son in federal court.
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Page, who is the sheriff of Rockingham County, alleges that county commissioner Kevin Berger engaged in a campaign of retaliation against him for running against his father, including by intentionally destroying his campaign finance records. He also alleges that Berger lied about his use of a county bank account and attempted to illegally reduce his compensation.
“The First Amendment accordingly protects ‘not only the affirmative right to speak, but also the right to be free from retaliation by a public official for the exercise of that right,’” Page’s lawsuit, quoting court precedent, says. “… That principle is not rendered inapplicable because the person engaged in the protected activity holds office, or because his protected speech proved persuasive to voters, or because he defeated the leader of the State Senate.”
Kevin Berger did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Page’s 42-page lawsuit does not include proof for his claim that Berger or “a person acting in concert with him” destroyed his campaign finance reports “so that their absence could be used to manufacture a false allegation of wrongdoing by Sheriff Page to improve Senator Berger’s electoral prospects.”
He wrote that he believes Berger to be responsible because the news of the missing reports came immediately after he announced his candidacy and affected only Page and another candidate opposed to the Berger family. Furthermore, Berger’s “subsequent public exploitation of their absence” via social media posts disparaging Page’s campaign suggests that he was involved in the reports’ destruction, Page argues.
As for the compensation issue, Page contends that the county retaliated against his opposition to a local casino by removing the cost-of-living and merit salary increases that he says he had received without issue for the previous 20 years.
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In the last fiscal year, Page did receive a cost-of-living raise, but he alleges that the county demanded he pay it back after he defeated Sen. Berger in the March 3 primary election.
Page also contends that Kevin Berger lied about his handling of a bank account tied to a vending machine owned by the sheriff’s office. During a commissioner’s meeting, Berger referred to it as Page’s “secret bank account,” despite it having been properly reported to the county’s finance department, the lawsuit says.
The existence of the vending machine was a source of conflict during Page’s campaign against Berger, and led to a state investigation, The News & Observer previously reported.
“Berger’s false allegations of misconduct regarding the canteen account and … Berger’s efforts to weaponize a baseless SBI investigation regarding the canteen account … were intended to harm Sheriff Page’s candidacy,” the lawsuit claims.
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Page has requested a trial by jury on his complaints.