Lynchburg City Council's Ward I gets first contender for seat

Lynchburg’s City Council election has drawn its first Ward I candidate.

John Richards Jr., a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, filed to run as an independent.

In an interview Thursday, he said his military career left him well versed in managing difficult budgets.

“In the Air Force, our budget was dictated to us. We couldn’t go out and raise taxes,” he said. “So we were constantly looking for ways to save money.”

“When I was a squadron commander, I wasn’t opposed if I could save $200, because that was $200 I could put to repairing vehicles or flight line equipment,” he said. “It was inherent in what we did to maximize the resources the taxpayers had entrusted to us. I think I could help the city look at those things and help bring more fiscal responsibility to what we do in Lynchburg so we are maximizing the resources our citizens have entrusted to us.”

Richards, a Lynchburg native, served for nearly 24 years in the Air Force, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

During that time, he said, he oversaw budgets as large as $500 million. After retiring in 2009, he moved back to the city with his wife and three daughters.

“One of the reasons we moved back here is because Lynchburg is a great place to raise a family,” he said. “And I wanted to do it while my kids were still young enough to be able to call Lynchburg home. I want this to be a place they can come to and live and have good jobs one day.”

If elected to council, Richards said one of his priorities would be creating new jobs and promoting economic development.

He said he was concerned about a number of projects, including Heritage High School and the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company. But he stressed he felt all council decisions should be made “with an eye on the context of the budget as a whole.”

“There’s only so much money to go around,” he said. “So you need to look at what all your requirements are and prioritize what you’re going to do.”

This year, Richards is president of the parent-teacher organization at Bedford Hills Elementary School, which his youngest daughter attends.

Last year, Bedford Hills’ previous PTO president spoke at a city budget hearing and advocated for a tax increase for education.

Richards said he would prefer to see the city focus on operating more efficiently.

“I think we need to look at ways to streamline government and maximize our resources before we say, let’s raise taxes,” he said, noting Lynchburg’s average household income is less than $40,000 and its unemployment rate is higher than the statewide rate.

“When you live in a city where people are already struggling and jobs have moved out, I think the government needs to really think about the impact of raising taxes on its citizens,” he said.

He added he is a supporter of public education and feels Lynchburg has outstanding schools. His daughters, ages 9 to 14, attend Lynchburg City Schools. 

Richards, 51, has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a master’s in air space management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

He is the first candidate to announce for City Council’s Ward I seat.

The incumbent, Michael Gillette, has not revealed his plans. Gillette declined to comment Thursday on the election or Richards’ candidacy.

Council’s four ward seats are all up for election this spring.

Vice Mayor Ceasor Johnson, of Ward II, and Councilman Turner Perrow, of Ward IV, are both seeking re-election. Neither has an announced challenger.

In Ward III, Jane Thurber, who made eight unsuccessful bids for council from 1984 to 2000, has filed to run.

The council elections are in May. The deadline to file to get on the ballot is March 6.