Zach Melder On The Issues

Central Virginia is emerging as a powerhouse in advanced manufacturing, giving Lynchburg tremendous potential for real economic growth. To seize this opportunity, we must equip our local workforce with the skills employers actually need.

Priorities:

• Reform workforce training programs to focus strictly on those with proven track records of placing people in good-paying jobs. No more taxpayer-funded programs that deliver zero results. We will demand measurable outcomes and accountability.
• Eliminate the business license tax. Small businesses and entrepreneurs serve our community; they should not be penalized with extra fees that stifle growth and expansion.
• Adopt a “grow what we have” strategy: Work directly with Lynchburg’s major employers to identify barriers to expansion and remove them quickly. Supporting existing businesses often delivers faster, more reliable wins than chasing new recruits.

Despite decades of increased spending, student outcomes in Lynchburg City Schools have stagnated and declined. More money alone is not the answer. The real issues lie in bureaucracy, lack of accountability, and drift from core fundamentals.

Priorities:

• Return to the fundamentals of education: strong reading, writing, math, and character development. Every child is uniquely created and deserves an education that helps them discover and develop those talents. We need to end the conveyor belt approach to education and return to teaching the transcendent values of civilization: truth, goodness, and beauty.
• Make parental involvement central. Parents are the primary educators of their children. Schools must act as partners and supports not replacements and provide full transparency about what is being taught.
• Strengthen support during key life transitions: elementary to middle school and high school to career or further education. Students without guidance during these periods are far more likely to fall behind.
• End social promotion. Students who cannot read proficiently by the end of third grade must receive intensive intervention and be held back if necessary. Literacy is the foundation of all future learning.

Lynchburg residents pay some of the higher taxes in the region, yet too often see disappointing results in return. It’s time for real accountability with every taxpayer dollar.

Priorities:

• Conduct a full, independent audit of city finances to identify waste and inefficiency, as well as hire an Auditor which the city formerly had.
• Return the Finance Department under the Treasurer’s office for direct accountability to voters.
• Address the city’s growing debt first. We must stop adding to the debt burden before any broad tax relief can be responsibly delivered.
• Once spending is under control and debt is stabilized, pursue targeted tax reductions, but only with corresponding cuts in spending. Lower taxes must be paired with greater efficiency.

While violent and property crime decreased in 2025, Lynchburg’s crime rates remain higher than many comparable Virginia cities. We can and must do better.

Priorities:

• Expand community-led prevention: Promote neighborhood watches, National Night Out, and regular community police walks to strengthen neighborhood bonds and deter crime.
• Invest in our youth through proven partnerships with schools, Teens in Police Service (TAPS), Good Gangs, after-school programs, summer jobs, and job training. Keeping young people engaged reduces idle time and steers them toward positive futures.
• Support effective reentry programs to lower recidivism among formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Keep violent offenders off the streets by opposing their release on bond when public safety is at risk.
• Recognize that the strongest long-term solutions to crime are strong families and vibrant local communities- values the city should actively promote and support.