MAYVILLE – The residents of Chautauqua County will be voting in a new County Executive this coming November. On Friday afternoon, Current County Executive Greg Edwards (R-Jamestown) announced that he would not be seeking a third term in office this year. The two-term Republican, who first won election in 2005 after defeating then-incumbent Mark Thomas (D-Pomfret), reportedly made the announcement during a press conference late Friday afternoon.
- RELATED AUDIO: Greg Edwards Interview with WRFA in March 2013
During the media conference, Edwards stated that he did not run for the job of county executive with the intention of making it his career. He also said that while the outpouring of support and encouragement to run for a third term has been tremendous, he has decided to pursue other opportunities.
Edwards was a lawyer for 18 years before becoming county executive. He has not held any other public office. In 2009, he won a second term in office after defeating challenger Chuck Cornell (D-Jamestown).
Edwards said he hopes that in the future he will be able to combine the skills he had as a lawyer with the ones he picked up in the position of county executive. He said that while his name has been in consideration as a possible candidate for Governor in 2014, at this point in time he has no interest in seeking statewide office.
So far there’s been no word on who the county Republicans would have as their candidate for county executive this year. The Democrats had planned to announce their candidate on Wednesday of this week, but that announcement has since been delayed.
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