{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nBrian Daniel Edwards was a first-time candidate for one of four open seats on the Orange County Schools Board of Education in the March 3, 2026 nonpartisan election [1]. He was not elected: he finished fifth of six candidates with 8.51% of the vote, behind winners Sarah Smylie, Anne Purcell, Will Atherton, and Lori Russell [2].\n\nHis campaign centered on expanding student and staff mental health resources, a proposed \"Teacher's Bill of Rights\" addressing planning time, compensation, and workplace stability, and prevention-focused school safety [1][3].\n\n## Background and education\nEdwards is a graduate of Orange High School. He holds an associate degree from Durham Technical Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke [1][4].\n\n## Career\nEdwards served for more than three years as a detention officer and corporal with the Orange County Sheriff's Office before he was fired in September 2025 [1][5].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nEdwards was fired after the Sheriff's Office's internal investigation found that social media posts he made violated its Standards of Conduct and Speech, Expression, and Social Networking policies [5]. The posts, surfaced publicly by the account \"LibsofTikTok,\" included Edwards writing \"I am Antifa. And I will never comply with a fascist regime,\" and sharing a video of the protest song \"Old Man Trump\" \u2014 which he said \"calls out injustice, intolerance, and the legacy of hate left by Donald Trump\" \u2014 alongside an image reading \"This Machine Kills Fascists\" [6]. A separate post attributed to his accounts by a third-party account on X, reading \"it may even be time to bring back the guillotine,\" could not be independently verified by the outlet that reported it [6]. Edwards was placed on administrative leave and terminated within days [5][6]. After his termination, he took a position at Walmart while continuing his school board campaign [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Former Detention Corporal Brian Edwards Details Run for Orange County Schools Board \u2013 Chapelboro.com](https://chapelboro.com/news/election/former-detention-corporal-brian-edwards-details-run-for-orange-county-schools-board)\n[2] [Three incumbents, one newcomer projected to win race for Orange County Schools Board of Education \u2013 Daily Tar Heel](https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/city-orange-county-schools-board-of-education-2026-election-results-20260304)\n[3] [Q&A: Edwards focuses on mental health in schools \u2013 newsoforange.com](https://www.newsoforange.com/community/article_b2509cdc-dddc-437c-a680-8308f17ee5ec.html)\n[4] [Orange County School Board: Brian Edwards \u2013 IndyWeek](https://indyweek.com/news/orange-county-schools-board-of-education-brian-edwards-2026/)\n[5] [Orange Co. officer fired after 'concerning' social media posts \u2013 WRAL.com](https://www.wral.com/news/local/orange-co-deputy-fired-concerning-social-media-posts-2025/)\n[6] [Orange County officer, self-described 'antifa' fired over social media posts \u2013 Yahoo News](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/orange-county-deputy-self-described-154538357.html)","campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","county":"orange","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Orange County Schools Board Of Education"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Brian","fullname":"Brian Daniel Edwards","lastname":"Edwards","middlename":"Daniel","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"Orange County Schools Board Of Education","county":"orange","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"orange","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":"orange","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"county_school_board","contest_title":"Orange County Schools Board Of Education","county":"orange","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":"orange","office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"county_school_board","office_title":"County School Board Member","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"c705504635eabeec"}