Press release from Elect Amanda:
First-time candidate and former local American Red Cross Director Amanda Edwards will seek the open District 2 Buncombe County Commission seat.
“The people of Buncombe County are hurting for leaders who can demonstrate accountability — good old-fashioned ‘the buck stops here’ accountability,” Edwards said. “I offer my record of financial accountability and integrity. I consider it my duty to listen and to earn your trust.”
Edwards, 40, a lifelong Democrat, has held high-profile executive roles in Buncombe County. She is past Executive Director of the Asheville-Mountain Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, past Executive Director of the Literacy Council of Buncombe County, and currently Executive Director of the A-B Tech Foundation. The foundation raises and grants scholarships that benefit tens of thousands of community college students throughout Western North Carolina.
“It’s time for new leaders, leaders we can count on to restore trust,” Edwards said. “I believe that my leadership experience — inclusive, accountable, transparent leadership — and my public service ethic — real solutions for real people, delivered efficiently and respectfully — these are what our community needs right now. People are clamoring for a fresh start, and for someone they can trust to protect and nurture the people and places we love.”
Edwards said she has been inspired by the wave of women rising to lead in communities across the country. In making her decision to seek elected office, Edwards said she “reflected on the strong, independent women who raised me, and realized that tough and strong is the only way I know how to be.”
“Mountain women are fearless, and occasionally fearsome, and as it turns out that is exactly what my mother and grandmother raised me to be,” Edwards said. Edwards is a lifelong resident of Appalachia. She grew up in West Virginia and moved to Buncombe County in her late teens.
Edwards said her combination of hands-on community service and executive-level responsibility will translate well to the duties of a Commissioner. Edwards said her career and history of volunteerism demonstrates her commitment to effective, compassionate leadership on education, an economy that supports locals, emergency services, and environmental conservation.
Edwards is married to Derek Edwards, a longtime educator, and Principal at Claxton Elementary School in Asheville. The couple met on their first day as students at UNC-Asheville. Edwards, her husband, their son, family dog, and a brood of chickens all live at their rural Weaverville home.
Edwards established her campaign committee Tuesday by filing required documents at the Buncombe County Board of Elections. Candidate filing opens in February.
A win should help her current employer get all that it wants from the county. Hopefully, there’s no conflict of interest there, and she’s not part of the cloaked management problems at AB Tech.