MEET RYAN THOMAS
Ryan Thomas is a Lynchburg resident, husband, father, small business owner, and real estate investor focused on restoring function to City Council through principled conservative leadership and practical solutions. He has called the city home since 2004 and, after traveling extensively across the country for work, chose Lynchburg as the place to put down roots and raise his family.
Ryan lives in Lynchburg with his wife, Corey, and their three children—Jake, Ellie, and Rosie.
He holds a degree in Environmental Biology and pursued graduate studies in Philosophy, where he completed the full course of study and taught undergraduate philosophy as a graduate assistant.
Professionally, Ryan has worked across a wide range of fields, including higher education, security, and the entertainment industry, where he currently works. As a real estate investor, he brings firsthand experience with housing supply, affordability, and the impact of local regulation on working families.
THE JOURNEY
Over the past five years, Ryan has been actively involved as a conservative grassroots organizer in the Lynchburg area, working with others to advocate for limited government, individual liberty, and responsible local leadership.
Ryan is running for City Council to bring consistent, principled, and practical leadership to Lynchburg—focused on affordability, accountability, and restoring trust between citizens and their local government. He believes the role of a council member is to serve the public, not engage in performative drama, and is committed to a collaborative, solutions-oriented approach.
While Ryan is always willing to listen and work toward practical solutions, he does not believe in compromising on core principles. His focus is simple: help restore a City Council that functions effectively and delivers for the people of Lynchburg.
POLICY PLATFORMS
Saying "NO" to Richmond
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Defend constitutional rights—especially the Second Amendment. Virginia has already seen waves of proposed firearm restrictions in recent years. Ryan will oppose any local cooperation with enforcement of unconstitutional mandates and support “Second Amendment sanctuary” style protections.
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Resist unfunded mandates and liabilities from Richmond. State government should not be able to impose sweeping new requirements onto localities without providing the funding necessary to implement them.
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Protect local control in education and culture issues. Policies imposed statewide should not override community standards without local input and hearings.
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Use legal and legislative channels aggressively to challenge overreach.
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Use budget leverage to prioritize local priorities over state-driven agendas.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
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Zoning reform to increase supply. Restrictive zoning is one of the biggest drivers of housing cost. Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests zoning constraints can increase housing prices by 20–50% in constrained markets.
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Legalize and clarify “missing middle” housing. Duplexes, triplexes, ADUs (accessory dwelling units), and small-lot homes should be allowed by-right in more residential zones to increase density without changing neighborhood character.
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Tiny homes & modular housing clarity. Many jurisdictions classify these as mobile homes, limiting placement. Lynchburg should explicitly define and permit them on privately owned residential lots where infrastructure allows—reducing entry-level housing costs dramatically (often $50k–$100k build range vs. $250k+ traditional starter homes).
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Reduce the real estate tax burden.
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Streamline permitting and approvals. Delays add cost. Each month of delay can increase project costs by 0.5–1%, which gets passed directly to renters and buyers.
EDUCATION REFORM
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Refocus on core competencies. Reading and math proficiency are slipping nationwide—NAEP data shows only about 30–35% of 4th and 8th graders are proficient in reading/math. Lynchburg should aim to exceed those benchmarks with targeted intervention.
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Redirect funding into classrooms. Nationwide, non-teaching staff has grown significantly faster than student enrollment. Some districts have seen administrative growth outpace teachers by 2:1 or more. Conduct a full audit and reallocate funds to teachers and materials.
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Discipline reform that supports learning. Chronic disruption harms the majority of students. Implement firm, consistent discipline policies for repeat disruptors.
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Teacher retention through support, not bureaucracy. Reduce paperwork and administrative overhead so teachers can focus on teaching—one of the top reasons educators leave is non-instructional workload.
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Expand practical pathways. Strengthen vocational, technical, and apprenticeship tracks in partnership with local employers so students who aren’t college-bound still graduate career-ready.
PUBLIC SAFETY
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Prioritize violent crime and repeat offenders. A relatively small number of offenders commit a disproportionate share of violent crime—DOJ data suggests a small cohort can account for 40–60% of serious offenses in a given area. We’ve seen the consequences of failing to act: the tragic killing of Anastasiia Zarutska on a public bus by a repeat violent felon.
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Support law enforcement—"defund the police" initiatives were an abject failure in virtually every locality that implemented them.
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Oppose mass surveillance tools like Flock cameras. These systems raise serious Fourth Amendment concerns and create long-term legal exposure for municipalities. Several jurisdictions have already faced lawsuits over automated license plate tracking.
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Strengthen community-led safety efforts. Neighborhood watches and citizen partnerships with police improve response times and deterrence—studies show organized community programs can reduce property crime by up to 15–20%.
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Protect civil liberties as a non-negotiable. Public safety policies must be constitutional, targeted, and proportional—broad, suspicionless surveillance or enforcement undermines trust and invites abuse.
De-regulate and cut taxes
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Eliminate the personal property (“car”) tax. Eliminating it won’t happen overnight—we need to get spending under control first—but it remains a clear policy priority.
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Cut unnecessary regulatory barriers. Overregulation raises costs for small businesses and entrepreneurs. A comprehensive regulatory review--essentially an audit of the city code--can identify outdated rules that stifle growth without improving safety or outcomes.
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Streamline licensing, permitting, and inspection processes so new businesses can open faster and at lower cost—reducing delays that can add thousands in startup expenses. Modern AI-driven tools make upgrading outdated systems faster, simpler, and far less expensive than in the past.
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Prioritize efficient government spending. Lynchburg is spending nearly $10 million on a pool project similar in size and scope to one recently built in Roanoke for roughly a third of the cost. Before asking taxpayers for more, we should ensure existing funds are being used effectively through audits, transparency, and leaner, more accountable government.