He’s local and has unique opinions, but decided to move south to take his first shot at elected office.

Jeff Roseman, a Rowan County native and East Rowan High alumnus, plans to pack his bags and move to Texas for the state’s 6th Congressional District race. Roseman has already filed for the race as a Democrat and will face two in the 2016 primary election. Three Republicans, including the incumbent, are also running for the seat.

Roseman, 60, recently starting working for Swift Transportation and is giving politics a shot. He has a degree in engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and has worked for Cannon Mills and Duke Energy.

Perhaps Roseman’s most unique opinions relate to the Middle East. He said Iran is threatened by enemies on all sides. Multiple neighboring countries have nuclear weapons and Roseman says the U.S. should sell missiles to Iran for protection.

“We’ll sell them one so they don’t have to make their own,” he said.

When asked to elaborate on the point, which he initially stated without being asked, Roseman said the country would have to submit to certain standards.

“We’re not going to sell them 200,” he said. “We’ll sell them five a year.”

Roseman also said he’s OK with gay marriage.

“I don’t think marrying animals is such a good idea, but other than that I don’t care,” he said. “It’s up to the churches.”

Currently he’s living in Salisbury, but plans to move to Texas in time for the election. Roseman said he’s lived in Texas previously and helped out with another campaign for congress in the state. He’s able to run for Texas’ 6th Congressional District seat because the state doesn’t specificy a length of time for residency. Roseman also doesn’t have to live in the particular district, which skirts rural areas adjacent to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan area. In North Carolina, the rules are identical.

When asked why he didn’t run in North Carolina, Roseman said he’s got a better chance to win in Texas.

Roseman is running as a Democrat against three others in the 2016 primary election, but says he thought about running independent of a political party. He’s a self-described “left-wing libertarian.”

Salisbury city councilman asks “white friends” to listen up

Recently elected City Councilman Ken Hardin took to Facebook this week to tell Salisbury residents he’s not plotting “to blow Salisbury up.”

In his lengthy, public Facebook post, Hardin said he has been accused of secretly being behind and encouraging gun violence in the city.

“Since I’ve heard these fallacies repeated 3-40 times by my White friends whom I’ve appreciated correcting misguided folks in their circle,” he wrote. “I want to take this opportunity to put this to rest. That way no one else will have to take me to breakfast or lunch and proclaim that I’m ok once you get to know me.”

Continuing, Hardin write that he’s been accused of wanting to bring terrorist violence to Salisbury. He points to involvement in community organizations as proof that he’s trying to limit violence, not encourage or rejoice about it.

“So, I’m asking all my White friends to do a public service and stop the rampant misinformation and mischaracterization of me as the stereotypical angry Black boogeyman terrorizing the streets of our City,” he writes. “I’m not a one dimensional caricature character from the racist 1915 movie Birth of a Nation.”

Hardin wrote he cares little about public perception and will continue working in the community to make Salisbury better.

New group replaces Republican Men’s Breakfast Club

The Republican Men’s Breakfast Club is reorganizing with the omission of one word.

County Commissioner Craig Pierce says the group will now be called the Republican Breakfast Club. It’s open to any Republicans regardless of gender or age, Pierce said.

Each month, the club will meet for breakfast and focus on a singular question. Pierce, who will serve as the group’s facilitator, will email a question to all interested participants. During meetings, the group will then focus on that topic, he said.

Whereas the Republican Men’s Breakfast Club was chartered and required dues, the new group will be a “simple breakfast to talk to local officials,” he said. The regular meetings won’t come with a rigid schedule.

Pierce said the new breakfast club would be a good starting point for Rowan residents to learn about politics. It would be a place to meet local Republicans and public officials before deciding to run for office, he said.

To get involved with the group, Pierce suggested emailing him at Craig.Pierce@rowancountync.gov.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.