Greg Edwards (politician)

Gregory J. Edwards (born September 1960) is the former county executive of Chautauqua County, New York. A registered Republican, Edwards served as an attorney and dairy farmer prior to his election in 2005. In September 2010, Edwards was named the nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Republican Party ticket with Carl Paladino for governor.

Edwards was born in Panama, New York, in September 1960 to second-generation dairy farmers. He was 14 at the time when his parents took over his grandfather’s dairy farm. Greg’s mother then became the physical education teacher at Panama High School.

Edwards spent his high-school years working on his family's dairy farm. He graduated from Panama High School in 1978 and then went to Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. He spent four years on the football team (Division III) as a backup linebacker, tackle, and special teams player. He graduated in 1982 with his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Upon graduation from college, Edwards took a job on the outskirts of Pittsburgh as a salesman for a steel plant. A year and a half later, he returned home to the family farm in Panama, New York. He went to work full-time on the farm – milking cows and tending the land.

In 1986 he graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1987. Right out of law school he went to work as an Associate for a law firm – Erickson, Webb, Scolton – in Jamestown, New York. In 1991, he became a partner at the law firm Lodestro, Cass, Vanstrom and Edwards. Edwards has been married to Carrie Wilson since 1990. They have three children and live in Jamestown, NY.

In 2004, the local Republican Party asked Edwards to run for County Executive against a two-term incumbent. He won election to his first term in 2005, defeating Democrat Mark Thomas 52%-42%.

Edwards handily won re-election in 2009, defeating Democrat Chuck Cornell 65%-35%.

...
Wikipedia