Lynchburg Better Together candidates Christina Delzingaro, Dave Henderson, and Nat Marshall today called on Lynchburg City Council to commit to funding the 4% teacher raise included in the Virginia state budget — and to move expeditiously to make that commitment a reality.

Dave Henderson, owner of The Water Dog and candidate for Lynchburg City Council, knows firsthand how local businesses help build community. As The News & Advance highlights, The Water Dog’s World Cup watch parties brought people together across Lynchburg — soccer fans, casual viewers, families, neighbors, and visitors — creating the kind of shared experience that makes a city feel alive. That is what Dave understands: strong local businesses do more than drive the economy. They create gathering places, strengthen downtown, and help people feel connected to the city they call home. From The Water Dog to City Council, Dave is ready to keep helping Lynchburg move forward.

Throughout the 20th century, Lynchburg was a complacent city, often averse to confrontation over social advances, panelists said at a Monday discussion on race relations in the city… Along with Martin, Monday’s discussion, titled “Race Relations in Lynchburg: Where We Were, Where We Are, Where We Need to Go,” featured Shaun Spencer-Hester, the granddaughter of poet and activist Anne Spencer, and Nat Marshall, a lifelong Lynchburg-area resident and city council candidate.

Lynchburg Better Together City Council candidates Christina Delzingaro, Dave Henderson, and Nat Marshall have released a new summary of feedback gathered during a May 12 listening session with local business owners. The document, “What We Heard From Business Owners,” reflects a clear message from Lynchburg’s business community: local economic growth depends on more than business recruitment alone. Business owners want city leadership that understands the connection between strong schools, safe streets, vibrant public spaces, affordable commercial corridors, infrastructure investment, and opportunities for young people.

Nat Marshall, a lifelong Lynchburg-area resident, highlighted the dedication of Phyllistine Mosley and the other co-founders of the Juneteenth celebration for their 25-plus years of work on the event. Marshall, a candidate for one of the three at-large seats on Lynchburg City Council, commented about the diverse nature of the crowd at Saturday’s event, many of whom “are trying to learn and celebrate” freedom and Black achievement.

In a few weeks, my wife and I will have lived in Lynchburg for 50 years. Our children were born here, attended public schools, and both of them graduated from Heritage High School. We have spent the greater portion of our lives within the City of Lynchburg. Never in all those years have we witnessed the total dysfunction that is on constant display from our local Republican-dominated City Council. Temper tantrums (literally throwing objects to the floor), personal insults, campaigning against each other, allowing meetings to descend into chaos — perhaps fans of reality television, where toxic behavior is paraded as entertainment, are amused and entertained. I’m appalled and embarrassed. Fortunately, we still have elections and alternatives. I have met and spoken with Christina Delzingaro, Dave Henderson, and Nat Marshall, who are running as a ticket under the Lynchburg Better Together and Democratic banners.

Lynchburg Better Together City Council candidates Christina Delzingaro, Dave Henderson, and Nat Marshall have released a new summary of feedback gathered during a March listening session with Lynchburg City Schools teachers and staff. The document, “What We Heard From LCS Teachers,” highlights concerns raised by educators and school staff about teacher pay, staffing, classroom resources, curriculum, student support, building maintenance, and inequities across Lynchburg’s school system. Across the conversation, one message came through clearly: Lynchburg’s public schools need city leadership that treats student success as central to the city’s future.

For Lynchburg City Council candidate Dave Henderson, improving the quality of life for Hill City residents is his top campaign priority. From upgrades to the school system to continued improvements in downtown and other parts of the city to attracting mid-sized businesses, Lynchburg needs to keep the focus on investing in the quality of life, Henderson said at a candidate event hosted by the Central Virginia Young Democrats on Friday.

Lynchburg Democrats now know which candidates will be representing the party for the three at-large seats on city council in November’s general election. Because only three candidates filed paperwork with the Lynchburg Democratic Committee by the state’s deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday, the party will not need to hold a primary in August to pick who will be the party’s nominees. The three Democratic candidates — Nat Marshall, Christina Delzingaro and Dave Henderson — are the slate selected by Lynchburg Better Together to run for council. The trio held an event at Monument Terrace in January to announce their candidacies and explain why they are running for office.

Lynchburg Republican City Committee (LRCC) Chair Virginia Bratton must have had to really dig deep to find an objection to the Lynchburg Better Together (LBT) City Council Conduct Pledge. How can you attack a group that’s calling for professionalism, discipline, and respect in the conduct of the city’s business? Think, Virginia!

The head pf the Lynchburg Republican Party criticized a City Council Conduct Pledge circulated by the group Lynchburg Better Together. Lynchburg Better Together, a group that has endorsed three Democratic candidates for the at-large council seats, released the pledge that outlines what it describes as baseline expectations for how city council should conduct public business. The pledge, which has been signed by more than 200 people, is focused on how members of council govern once in office, including how meetings are conducted, how rules are used, and how the public and staff are treated, along with how members treat each other.

A new petition is circulating in Lynchburg, calling on city council members to improve how they behave and treat others in meetings. Supporters say it’s about trust and teamwork, while critics say the petition is a distraction from bigger issues. Lynchburg Better Together, a group that supports Democratic candidates, organized the petition. So far more than 200 hundred people have signed it. “It’s a sad state of affairs in our city when it comes to civility,” said Dave Henderson. “The public has seen enough of the city councils’ antics.”

Lynchburg Better Together, a group that has endorsed three Democratic candidates for local office, released a City Council Conduct Pledge on Monday that outlines what it describes as baseline expectations for how city council should conduct public business. The pledge has already been signed by Dave Henderson, Nat Marshall and Christina Delzingaro, the three candidates Lynchburg Better Together endorsed for the at-large seats on city council last month. More than 200 people had signed the pledge as of Tuesday morning.

Lynchburg Better Together today released a nonpartisan City Council Conduct Pledge, linking widespread concern about the conduct and effectiveness of City Council to why a new slate of candidates has stepped forward to run for office. The pledge outlines baseline expectations for how City Council should conduct public business, including professionalism, respectful conduct, responsible use of rules and procedures, transparency, and accountability. It does not endorse specific policies or political parties, nor does it seek to replace existing rules.

A slate of candidates selected by Lynchburg Better Together to run for the three at-large seats on city council introduced themselves at Monument Terrace on Tuesday where they explained why they are running for political office. The three candidates — Nat Marshall, Christina Delzingaro, and Dave Henderson — will seek the Democratic nomination for the at—large council seats on the ballot in November’s general election. “We’ve got to bring civility back to city council. We’ve got to put the citizems of Lynchburg first,” Ward II Councilman Sterling Wilder, the only Democrat on council, said at Tuesday’s event. “Please support these awesome at-large candidates in the upcoming city council elections in November,” Wilder told the crowd.

Lynchburg community leaders Christina Delzingaro, Dave Henderson and Nathaniel “Nat” X. Marshall on Tuesday announced they will run as Democratic candidates for the city council seats that are up for grabs this November. The Lynchburg City Council, currently with a 6-1 Republican majority, consists of three at-large representatives and four ward representatives. The at-large positions, currently held by Republican Mayor Larry Taylor and Republican council members Marty Misjuns and Stephanie Reed, will be on the ballot this year. 

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — Three new candidates are entering the race for Lynchburg City Council. Christina Delzingaro, Dave Henderson and Nat Marshall made their announcements Tuesday during an event at Monument Terrace hosted by Lynchburg Better Together. The candidates said they want City Council to be a place where members work together and support city staff, a push that comes after several recent resignations in city government.

Watch the press release announcing Lynchburg Better Together’s candidates for Lynchburg City Council (at-large) 2026 elections. This video includes interviews with the candidates afterwards.

Lynchburg, Virginia (January 15, 2026) — On Tuesday, January 20th, Lynchburg Better Together (LBT) will publicly introduce its slate of nominees for the 2026 At-Large City Council election. This will be a moment of clarity, optimism, and forward momentum—and a welcome contrast to the ongoing dysfunction that has come to define City Council politics. Three exceptional community members have stepped forward to run, and attendees at the press conference will be the first to hear from them directly.