Lynchburg City Council Gears Up for May 1 Elections

Lynchburg is seeking counsel as the elections for the new city representatives on Lynchburg City Council will be held May 1, inducting three new members for a four-year term on the seven-person board.

The Lynchburg City Council makes decisions that affect the city’s budget, environment and building projects, among other things. The adage that “every vote counts” is especially pertinent in Lynchburg, as 32 votes determined a councilmember in 2008, and one vote decided the 94th house district in 2017 where the winner was chosen by a drawing.

Since the campaign cutoff March 6, there are seven candidates running who are addressing different issues that face Lynchburg residents.

Al Billingsly – Independent

Considered the token conservative of the running candidates, Billingsly is a long-time resident of Lynchburg and has been involved in numerous aspects of the city. He has served on Lynchburg school boards and in a variety of neighborhood and philanthropic organizations.

“I’d really like to reduce the tax burden on the citizens right now,” Billingsly said. “In my mind, the tax burden is pretty heavy on home owners and also on people who like to eat out. There’s a meals tax that is quite cumbersome, I believe, so I’d like to start rolling some of that back.”

Billingsly said his conservative standpoint is a benefit to his campaign, bringing a different perspective to the council, if elected.

“I was looking at the people running and realized there were no conservatives that were running this time,” Billingsly said. “I think that just bringing a different point of view, a different mindset if you will … (would) give more of a balance on council that would force the council to look at things with a different mindset.”

Katie Webb Cyphert – Democrat

Cyphert, a native of Lynchburg, has also made deep roots in the Lynchburg community and believes that she can make positive changes as a councilmember through building bridges between the working class of Lynchburg and the city council.

“I just feel like this community has a real disconnect between the great hardworking people we have in the city and some of the solutions the city is proposing,” Cyphert said. “I want to do a better job of connecting people — engaging them in the process to make sure we get good solutions when it comes to infrastructure, economic development and education.”

Growing up, attending Lynchburg College, working as a middle school teacher and raising a family in Lynchburg, Cyphert said she knows the viewpoint of the citizens and can use that experience to better represent the community.

“I have seen this community from a variety of perspectives, including that of a working college student,” Cyphert said. “I’ve had a variety of experiences, and I hope I can bring those voices to the table.”

Ceasor Johnson – Independent

Johnson’s basis for running for city council is the idea of bringing experience to the table. Having served 12 years on the council before, with six of those as the vice-mayor, Johnson is familiar with the governmental side as well as the residential side of the area; he is the pastor of Spring Hill Baptist Church in Brookneal.

With this in mind, Johnson believes Lynchburg residents should be familiar and comfortable with him by now.

“They should have a comfort zone with me,” Johnson said. “They should know my leadership style, and they should know that I care a lot about the city of Lynchburg. I’m not in it for the glory, I’m in it because it is what it is — serving my fellow citizens.”

Randy Nelson – Independent – Incumbent

Nelson has served on the Lynchburg City Council since 2010. Having practiced law in Lynchburg for 42 years and served 28 years as a special justice in the 24th judicial circuit, Nelson brings much experience to his campaign.

A key point Nelson’s campaign has focused on is how the quality of life in Lynchburg can be improved.

“Quality of life, to a certain degree, is a subjective question,” Nelson said during the Women’s League of Voter’s forum for the candidates. “I think the question should be, ‘What priority would have the greatest effect on most people and interests in Lynchburg?’ To that, I would say it would be to remove the generational cycle of poverty.”

Derek Polley – Democrat

Polley has prioritized the poverty rate in his campaign, emphasizing financial education as a solution. Liberty graduate Polley said his stance is unique because of his experience living below the poverty line.

“I know what it’s like to not have food on the table, not be able to make ends meet, so to bring that type of compassion, to bring that type of urgency is a reason why I am a good candidate for the city of Lynchburg,” Polley said. “These are some of the hurdles people come across on a daily basis, so I know that financial literacy is a big part of helping people out of poverty.”

Polley said he wants to focus on the quality of employment rather than the number employed.

“Instead of being gainfully employed, a lot of people are painfully employed,” Polley said. “There’s no reason you should be working 50 to 55 hours per week and still not have enough money to make your basic needs and make ends meet.”

Treney Tweedy – Independent – Incumbent

Elected in 2014 and serving as vice-mayor since 2016, Tweedy is running again because she is seeing the growth of the city.

“I’m running to continue the progress of our city,” Tweedy said. “We have a great city that is growing, we have business development, we have people moving here who have decided to open businesses here, and so I think it’s important as part of our quality of life to have a great neighborhood revitalization plan to consider all of our students.”

Tweedy sees the poverty rate as one of the main detriments to the growth of the city, and believes education is the solution.

“While we have a lot of success, we also have a high poverty rate,” Tweedy said. “I believe training and education are important, so a trained workforce keeps businesses happy and employers wanting to hire folks. We want people to get the advanced skills and credentials needed to higher wagering jobs.”

Beau Wright – Independent

Wright, a Lynchburg native with experience as a financial planner in the Obama White House is running on three ideas — stronger jobs, stronger schools and better quality of life.

“We’ve got to be successful in each of them, we’ve got to be pushing on all three or we’re going to flounder,” Wright said.

Wright also hopes through his campaign to bring a younger perspective to the council.

“I think I’ve got (my youthful perspective) to contribute, and I think that my campaign offers something we don’t have on city council, what a lot of Liberty students are – we’re all millennials,” Wright said. “Now, 50 percent of Lynchburg’s population is under 35. That’s a big deal, and city council is making decisions that will affect this community 10 years down the road.”

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 1st. Anyone with questions can call the Voter Registration Office at 434-477-5999.