As Jeff Zenger runs for re-election, remember this: he is not simply your representative—he is a home-builder and developer who uses his legislative power to benefit the building industry, while shifting costs and risks onto local governments and taxpayers. According to public records he lists his occupation as “business owner / developer” with a construction background. He has accepted campaign contributions from industry-interest groups tied to home building. For example, the North Carolina Home Builders Association PAC supports many legislators advocating builder-friendly policy.
Now ask yourself: whose interests is he serving? Yours, or those of the builder-industry that stands to profit from laws that weaken local controls and expand development?
Kneecapping Local Government
Zenger has sponsored bills—like House Bill 765—that strip away local zoning powers, reduce infrastructure-review safeguards, impose rapid approval timelines, and shift more of the burden of growth onto municipalities. For example: municipalities may face tighter deadlines to approve permits, be banned from more restrictive standards, and local officials may face liability for their decisions.
When local governments lose the ability to enforce strong development standards (for roads, drainage, schools, etc.), what often happens is that they still must provide the services, but the property tax revenues from new residential development often fall short of covering the full cost of those services—including for large‐scale multi-unit or high-density developments. That gap often ends up being filled by tax increases for existing homeowners, many of whom are on fixed incomes (seniors, veterans).
Overdevelopment
Consider how overbuilding or unchecked development magnifies this risk:
- New residential units consume local services — roads, public safety, drainage, schools, parks — often before their tax revenues catch up.
- If lots are smaller, densities higher, infrastructure costs higher, then the “tax base” per resident may be lower or slower to develop—but the service demands are immediate.
- That means existing taxpayers (especially fixed-income seniors, veterans) may be forced to shoulder higher rates or property tax increases. Indeed, in NC counties some neighborhoods facing rapid development saw substantial tax-valuation increases, pushing long-time residents out.
- As seniors and veterans who cannot afford rising taxes are forced to move, more land opens up for the type of speculative development the builder-industry wants—with less resistance from residents.
In other words, Zenger’s legislative agenda accelerates development, weakens local oversight, and transfers risk and cost onto residents who least can afford it—all while benefiting his business background and contributors.
Conflict of Interest
Zenger wrote the rules he profits from. He is a developer by trade, a legislator in office, and a recipient of industry campaign support. This triple role creates a clear conflict of interest. When he chairs or sponsors legislation that loosens zoning and oversight, the beneficiaries are not primarily your neighborhood or your fixed-income neighbor—they’re large scale home-builders, developers and investor-driven suburban expansion.
Your Vote Matters
If you value:
- Preservation of local planning and citizen input
- Protection of seniors and veterans from tax-burden growth
- Infrastructure that keeps pace with growth, not one subsidized by existing homeowners
Then a vote for Jeff Zenger is a vote against those things.
By contrast, voting for someone else who pledges to protect local control, infrastructure accountability, fiscal stability, and equitable development sends a message: growth should benefit everyone, not just developers and insiders.
When you go to the ballot:
Do not vote for Jeff Zenger.
He is a developer-legislator advancing laws that weaken your community’s voice, increase the burden on fixed-income residents, and expand the profits of the home-building industry at your expense. If your town, your neighborhood, your tax bill or your veteran/senior neighbor matter, then you deserve a representative who places people first, not builders.