LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Lynchburg Republican City Committee has been declared defunct and the results of the recent firehouse primary that occurred in the city have been nullified, Lynchburg City Councilman Chris Faraldi confirmed.
At the end of May, a Republican firehouse primary was held in Lynchburg that drew scrutiny, and even an investigation from Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones. After various appeals were submitted, the Republican Party of Virginia State Central Committee took action.
Faraldi said in a 55-17 vote, the RPV took the following actions:
- The LRCC has failed to function and is therefore declared defunct.
- RPV Chair Jeff Ryer is to appoint replacements to the LRCC Executive Committee within 30 days.
- RPV Chair Jeff Ryer is to appoint a committee to review the LRCC Bylaws for RPV compliance.
- Current executive officers of the LRCC are banned from serving in a leadership position for the remainder of the term (through 2027), with the exception of Steven “Doc” Troxel.
- Steven “Doc” Troxel is commended for his attempts to conduct a fair process for the May 30 Firehouse, all things considered.
- The results of the Firehouse Primary are nullified. All interested candidates are permitted to file as Independents in the General Election without penalty.
- Jeffery Helgeson is formally censured and barred from all GOP offices, including LRCC membership, until the end of the term.
Faraldi also issued his own statement following the Virginia GOP’s actions:
I appreciate the Republican Party of Virginia’s State Central Committee for carefully reviewing the concerns raised regarding the Lynchburg Republican City Committee’s May 30 Firehouse Primary.
Today’s decision is not about any individual candidate. It is not about any faction within the Republican Party. It is about a simple principle: Republican voters should choose Republican nominees in a fair & transparent process, not party insiders.
For months, concerns were raised regarding transparency, voter notice, election administration, conflicts of interest, and the overall fairness of the Firehouse Primary process. Those concerns were repeatedly dismissed, criticized, or ridiculed… even as late as last night. We were told not to worry about it. We were told to trust the process. We were told everything was fine. It wasn’t.
And instead of working reasonably through this process, LRCC party insiders threw a lame, last-ditch temper tantrum… further proving the validity of the arguments in the majority opinion.
The appeal process itself revealed many astonishing facts, including facts nearly nobody was previously aware of... including the acceptance of ballots VIA E-MAIL! Those revelations reinforced the need for transparency and helped explain why confidence in the process had eroded among so many Lynchburg Republicans.
I was not a candidate in this race. I have no personal stake in which candidates ultimately receive the Republican nomination. My interest has always been ensuring that Republican voters, not party insiders, determine Republican nominees.Some have asked about the satire, humor, and sharp political commentary that I brought to this debate. The answer is straightforward: those tools were used to draw attention to problems that too many people wanted to ignore. The purpose was never simply to criticize officials. The purpose was to force a conversation about transparency, accountability, and whether a handful of insiders should control a process that belongs to Republican voters...
I understand that not everyone appreciated those methods. That’s fine. Yet while some focused on the jokes, others focused on the facts and the clear evidence of a rigged election.
In the end, the facts mattered — facts I had been pointing to from day one.
Candidly, today’s ruling by the State Central Committee is monumental and overwhelming. For anything to happen at that level requires at least 40 Republicans to agree. In other words, 40+ Republicans ruled that this firehouse process was indeed a dumpsterfire and violated many party rules. State leaders of our Party determined the problems I spoke out about were real, and significantly influenced outcomes. Decisions of this magnitude require broad agreement among Republican leaders from across the Commonwealth.State Party leaders concluded that the concerns raised about this process were serious, warranted review, and required substantial corrective action. I’m told one specific word used to describe all of this was “Conniving” (a conniving person “deceives others for their own advantage” - Cambridge Dictionary).In other words... it was indeed RIGGED.
This is a victory for transparency, accountability, and the Republican voters of Lynchburg.The lesson is larger than any one election. Trust is earned through openness, fairness, and accountability. When those principles are absent, people have a duty to speak up... even when it is unpopular, even when it invites criticism, and even when powerful people would prefer silence.Many people did. Today, their voices were heard. And the State GOP agreed.
The Republican Party is strongest when it trusts its voters. Now let’s trust them.
Lynchburg City Councilman Chris Faraldi