CASA GRANDE — It doesn’t get any more local than Anthony Edwards. The former NFL wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles has lived all of his life in Casa Grande and is now seeking to be elected as a councilman in the upcoming elections.
Edwards worked in the Cardinals’ front office after playing and recently stepped down from his role as senior director of player engagement after a 23-year tenure. He now is looking to step into local politics in the guise of city councilman.
The husband of MaryAnn and father of three children — Tony, Torrey and Tynette — told PinalCentral his NFL experience had taught him an invaluable lesson in his approach to life.
“I think number one, character is key. It’s one thing I talk about a lot,” Edwards said. “I’d see it in the young men who came to our football team at Arizona. I told them when they arrived that their gifts and talents would take them many places in life, but character will sustain you. It is how we carry ourselves though life.”
The 55-year-old said he’s always had the desire to run for council but with his pro football commitments, he wasn’t able to devote as much time as he would have liked. He said he was asked to run by Isabel Gipson years ago, but now feels the time is right.
“One of the first reasons why I’ve decided to run for council is I now have the time,” Edwards said. “I want to put something back into the community, I was able to do so serving on the board (Casa Grande Union High School District) for several years. I was pushing for students to be first and things like that.”
The recent growth and expansion of Casa Grande has not come as a surprise to Edwards.
“Great things are going on in our city today and I want to be a part of that heading forward,” said Edwards. “We have a lot of people moving here today and I want to help keep that hometown feel, with the growth and expansion, where we still have everybody knowing everyone. That sense of unity, that closeness that we’ve always had here in Casa Grande.”
Apart from his family and football duties Edwards is senior pastor at Greater Evangelist Temple in Casa Grande, where his father Clarence Edwards also served the Church of God in Christ congregation as part of his 47 years of service to the community.
“The pleasing thing for me was he was able to see his son take over his work, which was really, really good, before he passed away in January 2020,” Edwards said. “It’s the church I grew up in right here in Casa Grande.”
One of the key concerns Edwards is hearing from his congregation and from the local community is the cost of living.
“The biggest issue I’m finding out is having affordable housing,” Edwards said. “With all of the businesses coming to the area, such as Lucid Motors, we are going to need places for folks to live. Whether that is multifamily housing or single house lots, we need to have housing and we need to be prepared for the growth.”
He said support has been solid from the local community and he almost has enough signatures to appear on the ballot in August. “At this time we are trying to get the petitions signed. It’s going good, we still need more signatures. We have until the end of the month to get our signatures and we are looking for over 400 signatures,” he said.
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