From Policy to ‘Mischief’: Inside the High-Stakes Lynchburg City Council Debate

By: Ellie Simmers | Editor-in-Chief

City Council debate | Cade Meredith

Personal animosities and competing visions for Lynchburg’s governance boiled over on Tuesday night as nine city council candidates transformed the Memorial Ballroom stage into a high-stakes political battleground. Moderated by WSET ABC13 anchor Pat Simon and political science professor Dr. David Richards, the debate exposed deep divides on how the Hill City should be governed. 

This election, there are three seats that Lynchburg residents can vote to fill with any mix of the nine candidates, however, a majority are running as a party ticket. 

The three Democratic candidates, Dave Henderson, Christina Delzingaro and Nat Marshall, are running together as Lynchburg Better Together. 

For Liberty University alumna Brianna Falwell, supporting the Lynchburg Better Together ticket is directly tied to her morals. 

“Being a Falwell, a lot of my morals come through my politics and I think Christianity is more aligned with the Lynchburg Better Together candidates and their vision for Lynchburg,” said Falwell, dubbing this platform as the new Moral Majority. 

Mayor Larry Taylor, councilmember Stephanie Reed and Chris Boswell are running together as Team Lynchburg. 

Beth Hammond, a Lynchburg resident and Team Lynchburg supporter, said she wants a “well-run city” with council members who are “able to look at all the facts.”

Conservatives Veronica Bratton and councilmember Martin Misjuns are also running together, with a focus on lowering taxes and protecting conservative values.  

Eli Rybinni, also known as Shawn Hunter, is running independently, with his platform centering low-income areas and in-need populations. 

Budget Cuts and Allocations

An early economic discussion quickly became the most volatile of the night, as candidates were asked how they would handle Lynchburg’s budget and where they would identify cuts. 

Both Bratton and Misjuns emphasized the importance of a comprehensive forensic audit of the city’s finances, highlighting a recent report regarding previous executive compensation. 

“An internet search shows Lynchburg has an above-average poverty rate. … Yet an article recently revealed that our prior mayor gave hefty raises to some of the city’s highest-paid employees without a public council vote as required by law,” said Bratton, who promised to “end backroom deals.” 

Misjuns added that restoring an internal auditor is essential for tracking progress and costs of projects, like the Lynchburg Amphitheater or the White Rock Community Center. 

The allegations immediately drew a spirited rebuke from former mayor Reed, who defended her actions and city council’s governance model. “I’m not going to sit here and see you all get lied to by Team Mischief and Deception,” Reed responded, explaining that executive compensation adjustments are handled in closed sessions by majority board votes before formal processing. 

“Your board meets and takes a vote on your compensation. … If any law were broken, this would never be the tradition of the city.”

Meanwhile, Henderson and Delzingaro cautioned against mass budget slashes. Drawing on his experience as a restaurant owner, Henderson noted that cutting payroll or municipal services degrades overall quality and drives talent away. 

“If I cut my chef’s salary … guess what? I don’t have a chef anymore,” he said. “The market demands the price.” 

Delzingaro also warned that cutting local dollars arbitrarily risks forfeiting matching state and federal grant funding.

Following Reed’s remarks, the audience was able to witness an unscripted display of council friction in real time. 

Moderator Pat Simon paused the proceedings to enforce debate ground rules, instructing candidates to put away mobile devices after Misjuns was caught checking his phone on stage. The exchange intensified when Misjuns demanded a 30-second rebuttal, claiming that Reed had directly invoked his name during her response. 

Reed immediately countered from her seat, “I did not say his name, I said mischief… Mischief and deception!”

After a brief audience show of hands and a consultation between moderators, Misjuns was awarded the 30-second rebuttal window. He utilized his time to double down on former mayor Reed’s pay adjustments.

“Nothing that is discussed in closed session … can be acted upon until there is an open session vote after we come out of closed session,” he said. “So the former mayor just admitted to violating state law right here tonight.” 

Education

With Lynchburg City Schools reporting a 58% pass rate on recent Standards of Learning exams, compared with the statewide average of 72%, candidates were asked what their vision was  regarding how to best support students and help foster education financially. 

Democratic candidates emphasized systemic, early-childhood investments, rather than strictly relying on standardized testing metrics. 

“SOLs are the bare minimum of what we should expect from our kids. We need to be striving for an elite school system,” Henderson said, urging a broader focus on the expansion of career and technical education programs and universal pre-K. 

Delzingaro echoed the call for public pre-K while stressing the power of board oversight. “If we’re not seeing improvement, we need to hold our school board accountable,” she said. “That’s two levers city council has: funding and the appointment of school board members.” 

Candidates from Team Lynchburg and the conservative ticket highlighted vocational training, the importance of parental involvement and community tutoring. Taylor called for stronger parental engagement at home and practical trade alternatives for struggling students. 

“You’ve got a 16- or 17-year-old boy sitting in a classroom disturbing the class, you take him out and put him in a shop,” he said. “You teach him a trade where he can earn his keep.” 

Candidates Boswell and Reed have been able to carry their time and experience working within the Boys and Girls Club, launching reading initiatives and community reading academies. 

Meanwhile, Bratton proposed establishing a collaborative task force between parents, educators and council members to bring awareness to issues such as mold in school buildings. 

Public Housing 

Addressing substandard living conditions in low-income rental properties across Lynchburg generated rare agreement across the board on the existence of a housing crisis, though candidates were split on regulatory and enforcement mechanisms. 

Independent candidate Rybinni highlighted the importance of direct outreach to residents in subsidized housing complexes who report living with mold, pest infestations and fear of retaliation. 

“They still have the right to live in a clean, uninfested parcel. … If we get those complaints, an inspector should go in and fine these landlords because we’ve got kids in these houses,” said Rybinni. 

Councilmembers Reed and Misjuns both targeted out-of-town property owners and “slumlords.” 

“It’s unacceptable that we have citizens who don’t have running water or functioning toilets. … They’re slumlords, just like the rest of them. We’ve got to figure out a way to hold them accountable,” said Reed. 

Similarly, Misjuns argued that the existing municipal laws provide sufficient enforcement power if staff utilizes them aggressively, pointing to a recent water outage at Park Place. “Flushing your toilet is a need. … The city has the ability to take these out-of-town landlords to court for damages on behalf of the tenants,” he said.

Delzingaro proposed shifting from reactive complaints to proactive, city-wide rental inspections.“Many people get evicted when they make complaints. … I believe prospective building enforcement inspections need to happen across the city, and we need to be publishing the results much like restaurant inspections.”

Statewide Constitutional Amendments

Responses were split sharply along national party lines when it came to the three proposed statewide constitutional amendments. 

Conservative candidate Misjuns urged voters to reject all three measures, arguing against the reproductive freedom amendment, framing it as an overreach, while simultaneously opposing the same-sex marriage and voting rights provisions. 

Similarly, Bratton, Reed, Boswell and Taylor cited their pro-life stances as the reasoning behind their votes, though notably, Boswell cautioned against allowing state and national political debates to distract council members from local Lynchburg issues. 

Democratic candidates, on the other hand, all confirmed their support for all three amendments. Delzingaro described them as essential protections for human dignity, reproductive healthcare and equal rights. Marshall and Henderson both noted that decisions regarding reproductive health belong to women and their doctors, not politicians. 

Rybinni shared his personal story as a former felon who had his rights restored, calling on politicians to stop playing games with people’s lives. 

Tuesday’s debate made it clear that Lynchburg voters face a fundamental choice in November. Whether voters choose to support unified slates or mix individual candidates, the outcome will shape the Hill City’s governance and public policy for years to come. 

Voter Resources & Information

• To check your registration status, locate your polling place, or view sample ballots ahead of Election Day, visit the Virginia Department of Elections Voter Portal.
• For candidate campaign finance disclosures, campaign committee filings, and local electoral history, explore The Virginia Public Access Project.