Treney L. Tweedy

Tweedy voted for Option A for the 2022 redistricting plan, which involves parts of Wards 3 and 4 moving into Ward 2. She seeks to support public services through tax money and provide citizens with information regarding said services [4, 14].

 During the pandemic, Tweedy denounced President Falwell of Liberty University’s decision of having students return to campus in March of 2020, and she thanked presidents of other colleges and universities for their decisions to close or limit access to campuses. Regarding Lynchburg’s response to the pandemic, Tweedy believes the city and its school division did the best they could [5, 8, 9].

Tweedy voted to create a formal liaison position to colleges and universities in the Office of Economic Development. She supports Virginia Career Works. Tweedy believes that in 2023, the city council will have the ability to give tax breaks in the form of the personal property tax ratio and through a one-time real estate tax rebate. She seeks to improve employee compensation across all city departments [4, 5, 25].

During the pandemic, Tweedy aided in providing businesses, including Virginia Metal Treating, Cloudfit Software, and Woodspring Suites, with grants and technical support. She supported consultation for businesses from the Small Business Development Center, and health/safety consultations and town hall opportunities from the HealthWorks, Centra and Piedmont Community Health Plan [4].

Tweedy seeks to increase youth involvement in civic government through increasing participation in civic programs such as Citizens’ Academy. She plans to invest in Lynchburg City Schools to improve aging buildings and handle declining enrollment and staffing shortages. She also aims to give teachers appropriate salaries and resources. Tweedy believes that individuals need beyond a high school education to adequately provide for themselves and their families [3, 5, 25].

Tweedy voted against Lynchburg becoming a “Second Amendment sanctuary” [22].

Tweedy seeks to prioritize funding to Lynchburg’s infrastructure.  She voted for two-way traffic in downtown, completed the renovation of neighborhood centers, helped to approve infrastructure projects including the $6 million sidewalk along Florida Avenue, helped improve the traffic flow along the Timberlake Quarter, and connected 460 to 29 for business throughout the Odd Fellows Road Exchange [17, 25].

 Tweedy believes in improving safety through well-trained and well-paid police officers, firefighters and emergency communications personnel [4].

In the Police Department, Tweedy has supported a $10,000 increase in the starting salary of all sworn police officers, voted to implement a pay plan that provides a progression system for annual increases in officer salary, voted for new equipment including body worn cameras, an upgrade to the Computer Aided Dispatch system, and new safety equipment for vehicles, and supported funding for a new police headquarters on Odd Fellows Road. In the Fire Department, Tweedy has voted for a 10% salary increase for firefighters and voted to provide funding for upgraded protective equipment and fire apparatus [4, 5].

Tweedy also seeks to increase safety through the availability of recreational, educational, and enrichment opportunities for youth and the elderly. She supports the efforts of the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative [4].