SALISBURY — In an email to friends Friday afternoon, former Republican Party chairman Greg Edds announced his candidacy for the 2014 county commission race.
Edds, who has also served as chairman of the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, is the first official challenger for the board.
And in a county that boasts a strong conservative base, Edds’ move is sure to shake up the May primary race.
Commissioners Jim Sides, Jon Barber and Chad Mitchell are up for re-election in 2014, but Mitchell said he will not run again.
In interviews earlier this year, Barber said he was still considering the candidacy. At a Rowan Republican Men’s meeting in October, Sides announced he will run for re-election and planned “to die in office.”
In the email, Edds referenced “political gridlock,” which he said has distracted the county from the issues. Edds plans to announce his candidacy on the steps of the Rowan County Administrative Building at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20.
Check Friday’s Post for more information.

Here’s the full email:
Dear Friends,
Eighteen years ago my family moved from Florida to Rowan County to start a business and embark upon an exciting new journey. We left everyone and everything we knew and moved to an area where we didn’t know a soul. Friends like you have confirmed for us time and again that we made the right choice. This is, and forever will be, the place we call home.
From the moment we arrived, I sought to become engaged in our community. We got involved in our local church, I quickly became an active member of the local Civitan, and have served on many boards such as the Rowan County Personnel Commission and the Rowan County Planning Board. I am the immediate past chairman of the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, where I also served as chairman of the Small Business Council and Legislative Affairs Committees. I served two terms as chairman of the Rowan County Republican Party and currently serve as chairman of the Rowan County Airport Advisory board. I am truly honored and thankful for the opportunities this community has provided for me to contribute.
As we all know, Rowan County is facing significant challenges. A directionless national economy continues to hit us extremely hard. It is devastating many of our families and it is making local quality jobs even harder to come by. Our schools continue to struggle beneath the mounting weight of federal regulation, crumbling families, and tightening state and local budgets.  We all witness senseless crime continuing to plague our community, and political gridlock persists, only serving to distract us from the critical issues we should be energetically uniting to solve. It is time, it is past time, that Rowan County come together to address the challenges that are keeping us from meeting our seemingly unlimited potential.
Next Wednesday, November 20, I will officially announce my candidacy for the 2014 race for Rowan County Commissioner.
I am asking you to please join me, my family, friends, neighbors, and supporters on Wednesday, November 20 at 1:00 pm on the steps of the Rowan County Administration Building, 130 West Innes Street in Salisbury.  The gathering will be brief but its purpose will be significant.  As a community, we need to draw the line and declare loudly that we intend to aggressively address those issues that concern us all.
Your presence will not only be an encouragement to me and my family but it will make a positive statement that we are ready to see Rowan County become a shining example of what a community can become when good people rally together.
Please respond and let me know about your plans to attend.
 

With much appreciation,
 

Greg