Endorsements from the Lynchburg Voters League have gone to City Council candidates Mike Gillette (Ward I), Ceasor Johnson (Ward II), Nat Marshall (Ward III) and Marie Waller (Ward IV).
The group announced its decisions Thursday following a 90-minute forum with the office hopefuls. President Sherry Williams said they looked for candidates who were committed to supporting public schools and combating crime.
Members also wanted someone they felt could empathize with their lives, she said.
“They wanted someone a little more down-to-earth, someone who’s walked in their shoes and been out in the working community,” she said.
The Lynchburg Voters League is an advocacy and mobilization group that operates primarily in Ward II, which includes the inner city. Their endorsements exactly mirror those made by Lynchburg Democrats last month.
Of the nine people running for City Council, eight participated in Thursday’s forum.
Ward III incumbent Jeff Helgeson, a Republican candidate for office, said he was unable to attend due to a prior commitment to the local party. He wrote the group a letter that both explained his absence and addressed some of his primary campaign issues.
The voters league event, which was open to the public and drew around 50 people, marked the first forum of this City Council election.
Candidates were asked a combination of league-written and audience-submitted questions that addressed issues ranging from crime prevention to schools to senior citizens.
The final two questions came from moderator McKinley Marshall, chairman of the league’s political action committee.
As the forum drew to a close, he asked for all candidates who knew where Main Street, Church Street and Jefferson Street were to raise their hands. All did.
He then asked for the same sign from all those who knew where places such as Flint Street and Peyton Street were. A few tentative hands went up halfway. Most stayed put.
Marshall said afterward he posed the questions to highlight the fact the candidates don’t know the more troubled parts of Ward II.
Williams said she found it to be the most surprising part of the evening.
“Maybe they need to get out a little bit more to our inner city streets,” she said.
Click here for more 2008 Lynchburg City Council elections coverage
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