Longtime lawman Eddie Cathey, a sheriff in suburban Charlotte, seeks a 7th term
Sheriff Eddie Cathey, a staple of Union County law enforcement, said running for a seventh term was an easy decision because, among other reasons, he likes his job.
“There’s no reason for me not to run,” Cathey said in a phone interview with The Charlotte Observer. “It was an easy decision to make.”
Cathey, 76, will become the longest-serving sheriff in Union County this December.
He’s confident he’s up for the job still, he said: He’s in good health, he has more ideas of how to keep the county safe, and he wants to see more ideas come to fruition.
He wants to open a new jail in the county, as well as an autopsy center near the sheriff’s office, he said. The current autopsy office is run out of an old hospital. And he also wants to see programs he helped lay the groundwork for get up and running, including a veterans court recovery program. The program will pair veterans with mentors to help them through treatment, a Union County press release said.
“People want ... to see us progress, and they want us to keep the same level of public safety,” Cathey said. “If you don’t have public safety, they don’t care about anything else.”
Eddie Cathey’s record
First elected in 2002, Cathey has watched Union County grow and change over the years, and has made sure the sheriff’s office keeps up, he said. In that time, a campaign press release said, he’s overseen the construction of a forensic crime lab, he’s embraced technology — including drones and body-warn cameras — and every county homicide has been solved. He said he’s especially proud of that accomplishment.
“It’s a lot of technology we have in place, but it’s also a lot of good, hardworking detectives out there doing what needs to be done to enforce laws in Union County,” Cathey said.
When the Wingate Police Department shut down in July, the Union County Sheriff’s Office took over law enforcement. Cathey said he understood peoples’ initial frustrations with their police department being shuttered, but has worked to earn the community’s trust.
“People come up and said, ‘Listen, I’m just thankful y’all took it over,’” Cathey said. “They’re better off now than they’ve ever been. We’ve got more officers in there.”
And when President Donald Trump began pushing sheriff’s offices to work more closely with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on detaining people, Cathey said he was able to find a cordial working relationship with the federal agency.
“We’ve not had a problem with other law enforcement agencies, or the federal agencies that need to operate here,” Cathey said. “They do their job, and we do our job.”
A campaign challenger
The candidate filing period begins in December. One man, Todd Elmore, has announced his intention to run against Cathey. Both are Republicans.
Elmore, in a phone interview with The Charlotte Observer, said he was Cathey’s chief deputy from 2015 to 2020.
“I’m not running a negative campaign ... I have the upmost respect for Eddie Cathey,” said Elmore, 61. But “it’s time for new energy and a new vision.”
Those words, “new energy, new vision,” have become the motto of his campaign, he said. Asked about his campaign priorities, Elmore, like Cathey, said the county needs a new jail.
“We’re overcrowded,” he said.
And, looking to his 26 years of experience working in the Department of Homeland Security in Mecklenburg County, Elmore wants to prevent violent crime from “seeping over” into Union County.
Cathey’s community involvement
Cathey, a U.S. Army veteran who was stationed in Korea, said his involvement in the county’s veteran community, as well as his community work as sheriff, helped the veterans court program become reality.
He attends holiday events and community meeting and spends time in schools reading to students. He wants to be accessible to people, he said, and sees it as his duty as sheriff to be involved.
When a local resident, Tina Sykes-Mosley, approached the county about starting a homicide victim support group for families who lost loved ones, Cathey was supportive. Other counties had similar programs and he, Sykes-Mosley, and other county officials saw the need for one closer to home.
The program, named MARCUS, named after Sykes-Mosley’s son who died from homicide, and stands for Mothers Advocating for Real Change and Unwavering Support, launched in May.
Sykes-Mosley said she supported Cathey’s re-election bid.
“Sheriff Cathey has demonstrated consistent compassion and accountability in his service — not only through law enforcement but through his genuine investment in the people most affected by violence and loss,” she said in a press release on Thursday. “His presence and support have made a lasting difference in the lives of grieving families.”
She said the sheriff’s office has become more transparent under his tenure, and appreciated his openness to communities members.
Cathey attended the group’s first meeting.
“All these things make the county a good place to live,” Cathey said. “We’re involved with all of them.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Cathey’s timeline in the military. The story has been updated to accurately reflect his service.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
