Student candidate says he'll bring fresh perspective to city

Liberty University student Brent Robertson expects to inject a fresh perspective into this year’s City Council race. The college junior, who’s studying political science and government, says he plans to run on a platform that serves the city as a whole and is confident he can overcome any reservations about his age or student status.

“With young age comes fresh ideas, which I think is exactly what the city needs,” Robertson, 20, said. “I think I can prove myself, prove that I’m a legitimate candidate, if people give me a chance.

“Let me present my platform, and you’ll see it’s not a Liberty University platform, it’s not a student platform, it’s not an ignorant platform. It’s the platform of someone who lives in and loves Lynchburg.”

Robertson, who said he’s developed a passion for Lynchburg since moving here three years ago, is building his campaign on the principle that lower taxes, lower spending and smarter investments lead to a better city.

He cited some of his priorities as devising tax incentives to bring new business into downtown, moving ahead with pedestrian improvements on Wards Road and protecting funding for Lynchburg City Schools.

Robertson originally hails from Ohio but plans to remain in Lynchburg after graduation. He currently lives in Wyndhurst.

He is running for council as an independent because of a belief that local politics should be nonpartisan. “A community should be tight-knit enough that you don’t need a D or R after someone’s name to know they’re a good person with good intentions,” he said.

Robertson said he supports the work the city has done so far to revitalize downtown but thinks that tax breaks are needed to entice new business into the district.

“You can have all the government programs you want, but until you have businesses willing to invest in downtown, you don’t have anything,” he said. “I think now is the time for incentives that will help truly revitalize the area, not just give it a facelift.”

Robertson did say he felt the permit requirements placed on local colleges when they want to build on their campuses is excessive but added he feels the city needs to be more receptive to development in general. He also said Wards Road was in need of “drastic improvement” and the city should forge ahead with plans to make pedestrian upgrades to that corridor.

Another priority he identified was shielding the public schools from the ongoing budget crisis as much as possible. Far from cutting the city’s contribution to the school budget, a possibility that has been raised this year, he said officials should be increasing local aid to offset state budget cuts. He said he felt this could be accomplished in part by cutting back on “pet projects” and revenue-draining “social programs.”

Robertson said he wants to serve the entire community and help improve the city’s future. Asked about the recent polling place flareup between LU and City Council, he described the entire incident as “unfortunate” and said he felt tempers flashed because of the rushed and stressful nature of the process.

“I don’t think City Council is out to stab the students in the back,” he said, adding he felt officials made the right decision by keeping the Heritage Elementary School polling place where it is for the time being, although he felt a change would be needed at some point.