Crunch time for Ward I council candidates

On the campaign trail, Ward I City Council candidate John Richards Jr. keeps his message clear and concise:

Im running because the city needs jobs and businesses, he tells a potential voter one afternoon. And City Council has been doing a really lousy job with that.

Richards, whos challenging incumbent Ward I Councilman Michael Gillette, likes to keep the focus squarely on dollars and cents when introducing himself to voters.

How do you feel about this tax increase theyre talking about? he asks while door-to-door canvassing in the ward.

City taxes, man, they just keep on going up, saidone Fleetwood Driveresident, outside washing his car.

Theyll keep going up, too, Richards said, until the city learns to stretch its dollars farther.

There are ways to do it, he said. They say a tax increase is needed. Im not sure it is.

With just two weeks left until Election Day, its crunch time for candidates working to get their messages out.

Gillette, a two-term incumbent, stressed the need for balanced leadership in his campaign, calling for thoughtful negotiation even in matters of economic development.

Some people say that being business friendly means saying yes to the first offer any company brings to the table, he wrote on his campaigns Facebook page. I believe that being good for business means working with businesses to negotiate mutually advantageous outcomes that benefit not only the business, but also the citizens ofLynchburg.

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Crunch time for Ward I council candidates