Lynchburg Candidate Chuck Gammon: Separates Himself From the Crowd

Last night I read an article on WSET it was about how Chuck Gammon has ended up at the top of the ballot, and how this might give him an unfair advantage at the polls. There are others advantages that Chuck Gammon has, although WSET did not report on those.

Chuck Gammon stands out because he is making his position clear on the issues. Something I haven't seen from the other candidates. They are apparently relying on name recognition.

And what they have to offer to city council as far as I know is a pig in a poke. Chuck has addressed issues that I consider important to Lynchburg. And it is a promise not to offer more of the same. My personal political position is independent. If any of the other candidates (any 12 of them) want to respond to Chuck Gammon's stand, I would be also pleased to print their response.

Below his part of his stand on the issues that I can't help not to agree with. This is from Chuck Gammon's website:


Stop Wasteful Spending

This City Council race is about far more than the personal troubles of one City Council member. The citizens of Lynchburg are saying loud and clear that this election is about the kind of government we have been getting.

The very first point of my campaign for working families is to eliminate wasteful and misdirected spending of City tax revenues. By this City Council, we have all become painfully aware of the costs of indecision and carefree economic policy.

A key issue is the Bluff Walk hotel, which represents millions of our taxpayer dollars placed at risk on a privately-owned project no investors or banks want any part of. It is an expensive example of misdirected priorities.

Like you, I believe government should take care of the basics first – roads, utilities, law enforcement and education. Instead, we see our local government using limited City revenues to fund high-risk private development that will likely leave City residents holding the bag for millions.

This City Council also spent hundreds of thousands more taxpayer dollars on consultants to make decisions about what the City should do with other people’s private property - and did it while delaying and ultimately turning away attractive and viable business. All of this while the City's capital improvements budget was overdrawn by $40 million dollars.

If we are to have any future hope of reducing real estate or other taxes, we have to stop treating tax revenues as if they are a bottomless pit and a blank check. We must actively work to identify waste and duplication in City services. Bluff Walk and the Mid-Town Plan are obvious and expensive examples because they were done by some of our City Council members, but there are other examples and my campaign to listen will be a part of beginning to identify areas that need correction.