After a 2022 election that set in motion sweeping changes across the Lynchburg City Council dais, council will hold a special called meeting Wednesday to elect the city’s next mayor and vice mayor.
Lynchburg’s council-manager form of government is such that the city’s mayor and vice mayor are selected by the governing body. Nominations are taken by the councilors and the member with a majority — four of the body’s seven votes — is named mayor. A similar, separate nomination and voting process is then held for vice mayor.
In June 2020, Mayor MaryJane Dolan was appointed mayor with four votes to former Councilman Randy Nelson’s two votes and outgoing at-large Councilwoman Treney Tweedy’s one vote. Outgoing Vice Mayor Beau Wright was elected mayor with five votes to Nelson’s two.
The City of Lynchburg has had three consecutive female mayors — Dolan, 2020-2022; Tweedy, 2018-2020; and former Councilwoman Joan Foster, 2016-2018.
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Unlike in a “strong mayor” form of government, such as Richmond has, Lynchburg’s mayor is largely a ceremonial position, as is the vice mayor position. The mayor presides over council meetings, delivers the annual State of the City address, and is a frequent sight at local ribbon-cuttings and other events.
In November’s at-large city council elections, Stephanie Reed, Larry Taylor and Martin Misjuns claimed the three contested at-large seats, ousting incumbents Tweedy and Wright. The three will be sworn in over two ceremonies Monday and Tuesday.
Nelson chose not to seek re-election and resigned prior to Election Day, leaving the seat vacant.
With three new members comes a new governing majority, the first for the Republicans since 1999, according to Ward IV Councilman Chris Faraldi.
Reed, Taylor, Misjuns and Faraldi all identify as Republicans, alongside Ward III Councilman Jeff Helgeson, giving them a 5-2 majority over Dolan and Ward II Councilman Sterling Wilder, who both identify as independent.
Having a governing majority would mean Republicans on council could appoint members from within their caucus to serve as mayor and vice mayor.
The two incumbent Republican members on council — Faraldi and Helgeson — are expected to be in the running for the position on Wednesday.
Faraldi was first elected to council in 2020, while Helgeson was elected to the body in 2004.
Despite spending 18 years on council, Helgeson has never served as the city’s mayor or vice mayor.
In a recent interview with The News & Advance, Faraldi, acknowledging the “immense honor” it would be to become mayor, said he is not in the process of “whipping votes” for himself on council.
“I am eager to see that question be answered too, but my chief priority is enacting the policies that they campaigned on and I helped them campaign with that won the day,” he said, referring to the the three new candidates.
Asked if he would support Helgeson for mayor, Faraldi replied, “I know the next mayor is going to be a Republican.”
Helgeson reaffirmed his desire to seek the position in an email statement to The News & Advance, putting forth what he believes he brings to the table.
“I will put my almost two decades of experience and understanding of local government to serve as the new Mayor. I will help craft new priorities and to safeguard a local tradition of maintaining civility in local government. I will work toward unity on Council and to advance our common interests,” Helgeson wrote.
Helgeson expressed his interest in becoming mayor during a November interview with 105.9 WLNI, but he also discussed several policy issues, highlighting one key difference in his and Faraldi’s priorities.
When asked about the potential for transitioning the appointment method of the Lynchburg City School Board to an elected school board, Helgeson instead argued the school board needs to appoint people who are going to address issues within the schools.
“I want us to get results, I don’t want us to be … quibbling about different methodology. I want us to make sure we appoint some really good people that are going to address the issue. Sometimes that doesn’t mean you just have to have people running another election, raising a hundred grand to talk about an issue,” Helgeson said.
The councilman would go on to say that while he recognizes there may be differences among views, he doesn’t want to make a decision “based on a knee-jerk reaction.”
“I want to really think through the results,” he said.
Misjuns, who, alongside the other two new members of council, signed Faraldi’s “Lynchburg Pledge” — which supports calling for an elected school board — had no reservations when asked who he will support for mayor.
“I’m going to be supporting Jeff Helgeson for mayor,” the councilor-elect said. “He served daily for two decades. And his understanding of local government is unmatched to anybody else right now on city council. He’s earned the respect on both sides of the aisle. He’s a man of integrity and character. And he really brings the wisdom in city and we need to solve the challenges facing our city.”
Misjuns said about the pledge, “the Lynchburg Pledge I signed … states I would support lobbying Richmond for legislation that gives us the unilateral authority to switch to an elected school board.”
“We can’t pledge to do something that we don’t have the authority to do,” Misjuns said.
Misjuns said it’s his hope that council can appoint members to the board who support school choice, in the chance that the Virginia General Assembly passes a local option during this session, calling it the “ultimate solution for our underserved neighborhoods.”
Similarly to Misjuns, Taylor said he plans on maintaining his long-term support for Helgeson.
“I’ve been supporting Jeff Helgeson for years,” Taylor said. “He’s been on council for 18 years and everybody bypasses him. His experience says something in itself.”
Reed would not say who she plans to vote for, saying council has to “vote for the person who is going to be best for the city, be a face for the city and someone who is going to represent every neighborhood of our city well.”
When asked if experience is a determining factor for her in leadership positions, the councilwoman-elect said “I think everybody on council has different types of experience that is all valuable. I don’t think anybody is less qualified than anybody else, because we all bring to the table something different.
“I’m just looking at who is going to do the best job in representing the city.”
Wilder, who said he would put his name in the running for mayor “if I thought I had the votes,” said he doesn’t have a crystal ball for Wednesday but would support a leadership position again for Dolan and even for a newcomer, specifically Reed.
“What she’s done for our community, through her philanthropic efforts, her business efforts … she’s very level-headed and a very nice person. Her care for the city is great,” Wilder said about Dolan.
Wilder said he has “reservations” voting for any other member of council except for those two, saying he thinks national political discussions have taken over the rhetoric in localities.
“City council needs to remain nonpartisan,” Wilder said. “And it’s disheartening to see our city council has become so partisan.”
Dolan said in an email statement she has “concern” whether council will elect a mayor with the required leadership skills, capacity and commitment to keep our city moving forward.
She added she’d like to see someone “who will represent all cultures and the diversity of our city, one who respects our hard-working city employees, one who is able to make decisions on a bi-partisan basis and one who does not use that position as a platform for self-promotion.”
Council’s mayoral election will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Council Chambers in City Hall at 900 Court Street.
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