Lynchburg Republicans now know the full lineup of candidates who will seek their party’s nomination for three open city council seats in a disputed nomination process on May 30.
The ballot, which has 10 candidates, pits two rival slates against each other.
Incumbents Stephanie Reed and Larry Taylor announced their slate with downtown business owner and political newcomer Chris Boswell in February.
This week, incumbent Marty Misjuns announced a slate with Veronica Bratton, the Lynchburg Republican City Committee’s chair, and James “Trae” Watkins, a community leader new to the political scene.
In addition to the six candidates involved in the two announced slates are four others who were announced in a party committee meeting last week: Greg Berry, Farid “FJ” Jalil, Zach Melder and Ryan Thomas.
The three who will represent the GOP in November’s general election will be determined by a party-run nomination process called a firehouse primary.
Over the next month, the 10 candidates will navigate a playing field shaped by ongoing discussions of party loyalty and division and conversations about the firehouse primary process.
The city council, currently with a 6-1 Republican majority, consists of three at-large representatives and four ward representatives. The council’s at-large seats — held now by Misjuns, Taylor and Reed, all Republicans — will be on Lynchburg’s ballot this November.
Taylor and Reed’s slate is advocating for goals that include “growing the local economy, supporting law enforcement, improving Lynchburg City Schools, and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” as described on their campaign’s website.
Misjuns’ group is promising to “stop wasteful tax-and-spend policies,” “hold bureaucrats accountable to citizens,” “fight Spanberger’s extreme overreach,” and “defend Republican values,” according to a brochure they distributed at a Wednesday press conference called to announce their campaign.
Of the three candidates that made their announcement Wednesday night, Watkins is the only political newcomer. Born and raised in Lynchburg, he was a former vice president at The Bank of the James and now works as a mentor to young people and families to reduce violence in Lynchburg.
The other two candidates in the group, Misjuns and Bratton, aren’t new to Lynchburg’s political sphere. Misjuns was first elected to the council in 2022, and Bratton has been chair of the Lynchburg Republican City Committee since 2022.
Candidates on the team said at Wednesday’s event that they’re unified by faith, conservative values and a goal to fight for the city as decisions made in Richmond threaten to trickle down.
If Democrats in Richmond push for higher taxes, protections for immigrants, and gun control, Misjuns said, his team will work on “structural changes to minimize the impact” of tax hikes, enter into a formal enforcement agreement with ICE, and fight against “gun grabs.”
“When Richmond Democrats come for your wallets, your freedom, your guns and your neighborhoods, this team will fight back and represent our shared Republican values,” Misjuns said at Wednesday’s event.
Other candidates set to appear on the firehouse primary ballot include:
- Berry: a retired sergeant at the Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office and vocal representative of the City Elders, a group “charged with the mission of governing the gates of every city in America to establish the Kingdom of God,” according to its website;
- Jalil: a Lynchburg City School Board member who is running for the city council because “the drama has to stop” on the dais, as he described in a campaign flyer;
- Melder: a branch manager for ALCOVA Mortgage who plans to “support local business, strengthen our neighborhoods, and make sure Lynchburg remains a place where families can live, grow, and thrive,” according to a Facebook post announcing his candidacy;
- Thomas: a small business owner and real estate investor hoping “to bring steady, practical, and principled leadership focused on affordability, accountability, and restoring trust in local government,” according to his campaign website.
The party’s firehouse primary is scheduled for May 30 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Brookville Ruritan Club in Lynchburg.
To vote that day, voters must be “in accord with the principles of the Republican Party” as determined by a credentialing committee and, if requested, express their intent in writing to support all Republican nominees. Voters must participate in person on May 30 unless they qualify for an absentee ballot.
Primary elections, unlike firehouse primaries, are run by the state and are open to all voters because voters do not register by party in Virginia. They allow absentee voting and provide for a period of early voting.
The supporters of the firehouse primary say it protects the Republican ticket from Democratic influence.
Critics of the firehouse primary say it could disenfranchise some Republican voters, too — especially those who have to work on May 30 — and fail to meet legal muster of a 2024 law that they interpret to effectively ban firehouse primaries and other party-run nomination processes.
Bratton has been a central advocate for the party’s firehouse primary, which she will now be running in. She said at the press conference on Wednesday that several weeks ago, when she first started seriously considering running for council, she recused herself from the party’s elective office committee. She plans to remain chair of the party, she said, but she’s recusing herself from firehouse primary oversight and will announce plans soon for who will provide that oversight.
In the meantime, Republican voters have about a month to get to know the candidates. The Lynchburg Republican City Committee plans to host a candidate forum, where committee members can hear from who’s running, on April 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Gather Lynchburg on Fort Avenue. Boswell, Taylor, and Reed plan to host a meet and greet on the same day, from 6 – 7 p.m. at Oliver’s on Rivermont Avenue.
At the Lynchburg Democratic Committee, no primary plans are in the works because only three candidates announced their plans to run by the filing deadline. Nonprofit CEO Christina Delzingaro, local business owner Dave Henderson, and retired engineer Nat Marshall in January kicked off their campaign for Democratic nominations and will be on the general election ballot come November.
