ASHEVILLE - Gary Parris, a retired Naval officer and former defense contractor with the U.S. Department of Defense, filed his candidacy for Buncombe County Sheriff on Dec. 1, according to North Carolina’s State Board of Elections .

Parris, 68, grew up in Alexander and spent three years with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office before embarking on a decorated 22-year military career in the U.S. Navy. He told the Citizen Times that he now hopes to modernize and bring new technology to the sheriff’s office, while improving its culture and “enforcing the rule of law for the safety of everyone.”

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