NC Sen. Berger’s lawyer elevated to chief of staff

RALEIGH (AP) The legislative staff attorney for North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger is becoming the top administrator for Berger’s office.

Berger announced July 30 that Andrew Tripp will be his next chief of staff, succeeding longtime aide Jim Blaine when he steps down at the end of the week.

Tripp has been Berger’s general counsel for nearly five years and served previously as a legislative lawyer for then-Senate Rules Committee Chairman Tom Apodaca. Tripp graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University law school.

Blaine announced last month he would be leaving Berger’s office after more than seven years as chief of staff. Blaine was a Republican strategist in 2010 when the GOP took over the Senate for the first time in 140 years.