The race for Salisbury’s City Council grew by two candidates on Wednesday.

On the third day of filing for municipal races across Rowan, former Salisbury City Council member Scott Maddox and Livingstone College faculty member Troy Russell added their names to the list of candidates. With Maddox and Russell, the list of candidates for Salisbury’s City council expanded to six. No incumbents had filed for the race as of Wednesday afternoon.

Maddox, 54, served as a councilman from 1993 to 2001. During a portion of his tenure, he served with outgoing Mayor Paul Woodson and Councilman Pete Kennedy.

Most recently, Maddox taught at Salisbury High School and was the school’s baseball coach. He retired from the school system this year. Before joining the school system, Maddox was the N.C. Department of Revenue manager for Rowan County, a job he held for 18 years.

Maddox said he chose to run for the office because he understands what it takes to be an effective council member and wants to continue making a difference in Salisbury.

Russell, 47, teaches religious studies at Livingstone College, and serves at the campus minister. He is also the pastor of Community Outreach Christian Ministries in Charlotte, a non-denominational church.

This year, Russell helped re-charter the Livingstone chapter of the NAACP, which previously hadn’t been an official branch for multiple years.

Russell said he decided to run for council to facilitate positive change in Salisbury. He said Salisbury is moving fast. An infusion of younger leadership into the City Council is also important, he said.

The pair of candidates join Roy Bentley, Constance Johnson, Mark Lewis and Todd Paris on the ballot for Salsibury City Council. Three incumbents — Mayor Pro Tem Maggie Blackwell, Kennedy and Woodson — have declared they wouldn’t seek another term.

East Spencer Resident Rhonda Kerns was the only other person to file for public office on Wednesday. Kerns filed for East Spencer Mayor. She did not return phone calls requesting biographical information.

The filing period for municipal races ends July 17 at noon.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246