Murphy – Chuck Edwards – the freshman congressman representing North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District – marvels at the differences compared to his previous job as state senator.
While working in Raleigh, then-state Sen. Edwards had a staff of one full-time person and occasional part-time help. Today, U.S. Rep. Edwards has a staff of 16 – nine at his office in Washington and seven working in-district.
In January, Edwards spent his weeklong recess traveling around western North Carolina, including the more-remote counties that seldom get visits by regionally-elected officials.
During his tour, he expressed doubts about opening regional offices when COVID-19 forced the realization that a lot can get done via telephone and the internet. And via a mobile office.
Instead of renting vacant offices at county courthouses to serve as district offices – which he called a very inefficient use of resources – Edwards has put his staff to work responding to phone calls, emails and online-submitted forms. He also outfitted the Carolina Cruiser, a camper van that serves as a mobile office he uses to travel and meet constituents in the sprawling, 15-county district.
Having such a large staff allows Edwards to “truly delegate responsibilities,” allowing him time to travel the 11th Congressional District’s rural territory.
“Staffing offices in some courthouse is highly inefficient,” he said. “A mobile office brings services into the counties – it brings it to the people.”
That’s the part of the job Edwards says he enjoys the most. He said “back in district and being with people” to hear about the “issues they see are important” is the more invigorating and interesting part of his job.
He does maintain two brick-and-mortar locations: his Washington office at the Longworth House Office Building, and his Hendersonville District Office at 200 N. Grove St.
Edwards defeated incumbent Madison Cawthorn in the 2022 Republican primary, then won the general election in November. His arrival in D.C. was informed by his six years in state office, including election wins in 2016, 2018 and 2020.
He is accustomed to the two-year election cycle, and said his experience in the state Senate was invaluable.
Upon his arrival, Edwards’ top priority was to rebuild an office staff that could respond to old cases left over from when Cawthorn was in office, to new cases seeking his help – and knowing the difference between the two.