LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — Four major Lynchburg business owners and investors are calling out members of the Lynchburg City Council for their behavior and actions behind the dais.
This all started after Tuesday night’s council meeting, where members discussed whether or not to go into closed session to discuss another council member’s actions against all three council-appointed positions. Dave Henderson, who is a managing partner with Hen and Hound Management Company, sent a scathing email to the council Wednesday afternoon.
RELATED: ‘City Council has to grow up’: Lynchburg business owners call out council’s behavior
Henderson owns and operates four popular Downtown Lynchburg restaurants – the Water Dog, the Glass House, Fratelli Italian Kitchen, and Rooftop No. 7. Below is his email to the council, several members of city staff, and other business leaders:
I made the decision to move my family back to Lynchburg because I believed — and still want to believe — in this city. I left a stable career to invest in this community, launching a business and planting roots. Since then, my partners and I have gone even further. We now own and operate four local restaurants and manage a growing portfolio through our company, Hen + Hound Management Co. We employ dozens of people, bring in thousands of customers each month, and actively contribute to the vitality of downtown and beyond.
But I’ll be honest: it’s getting harder and harder to keep that faith.
If you open the newspaper, scroll social media, or simply talk to your constituents, you’ll see what I see — a City Council defined not by vision or progress, but by pettiness, dysfunction, and deeply embarrassing behavior. What should be a governing body focused on leadership and growth has instead become a revolving headline of infighting, posturing, and personal vendettas. This is not just disappointing — it’s disgraceful.
Councilman Marty Misjuns’ actions at Tuesday’s council meeting are more than just disturbing. They’re unprofessional, hostile, and deeply toxic. His repeated attempts to intimidate fellow members, city staff, and even citizens have created a culture of fear, not service. His behavior is not only beneath the office he holds — it is a cancer to the forward momentum this city so desperately needs.
Let me be clear: Marty Misjuns does not represent my values, nor does he represent the values of the many downtown business owners I speak with daily. We are fed up. This behavior is costing us opportunities, momentum, and confidence in our local government. We are tired of apologizing for the behavior of our elected officials when talking to partners, investors, and customers. Frankly, we are embarrassed.
I receive proposals regularly from restaurants asking us to bring our management team to their towns. They’re cities with professional leadership, positive growth, and collaborative councils — cities where people work together instead of tearing each other down. We want to stay in Lynchburg. We want to grow in Lynchburg. But your dysfunction is making that harder every day.
You were elected to serve, not to dominate. To lead, not to bully. To bring dignity to our city, not disgrace. I implore you — as a father, a business owner, and a proud citizen — get your house in order.
The people of Lynchburg deserve better.
Henderson did not add Councilman Martin Misjuns to the email, so Vice Mayor Curt Diemer forwarded it to him with the following response:
Dear Honorable Councilman Misjuns,
I hope your day is going well.
Out of respect for you and the position that Lynchburg citizens elected you to, I wanted to make sure you received the following email from a member of our community. You were clearly excluded from the communication even though they represented themselves as a message for all of City Council and the email specifically referenced you but did not send it to you. In fact they sent it to all of City Council except you. This was clearly intentional and unprofessional in my humble opinion.
As you know, I am a strong proponent of openness and transparency in government and these emails were not open or inclusive.
Hopefully we can do better than this going forward. Thank you again for your service to the citizens of Lynchburg.
Henderson replied two hours later with the following:
Curt. Unfortunately, you’re incorrect in your assessment of Marty not being on the email. As I mentioned in a previous email, that was truly a mistake on my part, as I absolutely intended for ALL of City Council to receive my email. I apologize.
I look forward to your apology on my intentions.
Councilman Misjuns replied to Dave’s original email and called out Dave for his business practices. Below is the email:
Thank you for your email. While we haven’t had the chance to meet, I’m eager to engage in a constructive dialogue about the issues you’ve raised. As a member of the Lynchburg City Council, I believe it’s important to address concerns that affect our community, particularly when they involve public spaces and family-friendly areas. I also want to ensure the Mayor and the public are fully informed about activities at local businesses like The Water Dog, located at 1016 Jefferson St., Lynchburg, VA. With that in mind, I’d like to raise two concerns for your consideration:
Use of City Property: The attached parcel viewer screenshot shows outdoor seating for The Water Dog extending onto city property. Are you currently occupying this public space for your business operations? If so, are you paying rent to the city for this use, and can you provide the terms of that arrangement? This is a matter of public interest, as it involves the use of taxpayer-owned land.
Family-Friendly Environment Near the Riverfront: The Kiwanis Club’s recent investment in a new downtown playground has made the riverfront a more family-oriented space, directly adjacent to your establishment. However, The Water Dog has a history of hosting drag brunch events, as evidenced by the attached advertisements for “Drag Brunch Werk.” These events, featuring performances by drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, are sexually charged and, in my view, inappropriate for an area now frequented by families and children.
With families walking from the Number 8 9th Street public parking lot, along the city sidewalk—which appears to run through your outdoor dining area—to the new playground, how do you plan to ensure that children are not exposed to these performances? The vast majority of Lynchburg families would find such events inconsistent with the values they wish to uphold for their children in a public, family-friendly space. Given your history of hosting these events, what steps will you take to address this concern and protect the innocence of children in our community?
I trust you’ll respond with clarity on these matters.
I hope we can work together to ensure that the riverfront—supported by taxpayer funds and generous donors—remains appropriate and welcoming for the vast majority of Lynchburg citizens.
John Fees, a Lynchburg business owner and investor, as well as the former president of BWXT, replied to Dave’s email. Below is his response:
I agree with Dave, it is real problem that needs a solution. My tone is actually more negative than expressed here by Dave.
Government has a role that cannot be done by the private sector. The trend we are on is disabling that role. Not funding infrastructure and the capability of City government can create a downward spiral that is hard to recover from, just like digging a financial hole in your personal life.
I am not a city resident but our family invests in both owned businesses and broad support of our non-profits that make a difference in the lives and quality of life in our community. Government needs to do its part to make our efforts and the efforts of so many others complete. We have something special here that needs our efforts, and the efforts of government, to preserve.
The alternatives are not pretty. So we need cooperation and compromise on the City Council to move the ball forward, not infighting and lack of a sense of purpose.
ABC13’s Hayden Robertson spoke with Fees Friday afternoon. Fees said the attitude and child-like behavior of the council is causing Lynchburg to miss out on amazing growth opportunities.
“There are developers that have decided not to go ahead with projects already,” Fees said. “There are things that a number of people have talked about doing, but you really don’t want to enter this type of an environment where you’re not having dialogue, cooperation and priorities that affect the public good and the public outcome.”
Councilman Misjuns also sent a response to Fees. Below is his response:
Hello John,
I recall a conversation we had on January 9th at one of your properties on Bedford Avenue, inside the back of Flour District. You made a comment—possibly in jest—suggesting that we should raise the taxes on a property across the street until the owner couldn’t afford it anymore, so you could acquire it.
Even if said in humor, the comment highlights a deeper concern I don’t believe we see the same way. Real estate tax increases can have real consequences. They can force people—working families, single parents, the elderly, the disabled—to lose their homes and properties. These are the individuals I represent—not residents of the county.
That’s what drives my approach to these policy decisions. The force of government should never be used to pick winners and losers.
I appreciated our conversation last week and look forward to talking again soon.
As a side note, if the comment was serious, I don’t believe it’s legally possible to raise taxes on an individual parcel. I haven’t clarified that with the City Attorney yet, but even if it were permissible, I wouldn’t support it—for the reasons I’ve just shared.
Fees responded with the following email:
You are taking my comments out of context. I indicated that the city can raise my taxes if we can get some infrastructure improvements we have been talking about on Bedford Avenue for a few years. In jest, I said that maybe the decaying properties may be sold and can be improved if taxes were higher. I was not targeting anyone or any specific piece of property.
To infer that I think the government should pick winners or losers is an exaggeration. To say that I am promoting policy to make people lose their home is not correct.
I am sorry you are missing the point of this dialogue, and picking on open dialogue and banter. It is so important to our future.
Penny Lane Properties owner Daryl Calfee also responded to the chain with the following email:
Council – echoing the frustrations of my fellow business peers…
There is no leadership to be found here.
There is no sense of dignity or respect about the office or the community Marty is called to represent.
And lets be very clear – even here in his response – Marty’s lack of humility/acceptance of responsibility highlights exactly the arrogance and gaslighting we as a community are watching displayed on a weekly basis – in public meetings and on social media.
This continued public display of unacceptable behavior by Marty has been a dishonor to us all in Lynchburg’s professional community.
It is NOT a representation of who we are as a people or the values we teach in our homes or work.
And your continued acceptance of this behavior is stunting Lynchburg’s economic growth.
So you are aware – in the legitimate business community of Lynchburg, we are actively withholding future projects because no matter how merit based the efforts – this current council can not be entrusted to consider them fairly or appropriately because of a juvenile mindset that exists with several members. Let me restate this: New, honest and city shaping privately funded projects are not being brought to THIS council recently because we are refusing to invest our time and energy into efforts that will not be considered fairly/appropriately with any understanding of business.
Instead, we are simply choosing to work on by-right projects or in the counties all together.
My teams alone have raised millions in new tax dollars through previously derelict, now renovated real estate and new businesses in the last two decades. We won’t stand quietly by any longer and watch it go to waste. We have worked too hard. We have put too much at risk financially in order to make Lynchburg a place people want to raise families, earn a living and visit. And as the people out here actually doing the real work – we are telling you very clearly – get yourself in order.
Finally, Schewels Furniture Company owner Marc Schewel responded to the thread with the following statement:
At the risk of wading into a cesspool, I contend that it’s the nature of government to choose winners and losers. If you don’t believe that, just ask the surviving family members whose loved ones were sent to war in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan and never returned.
Tax policy creates winners and losers. While thousands of property owners will benefit from lower real estate rates, just as many citizens will be deprived of necessary services, including our schoolchildren, who are our most valuable resource.
With that said, Marty, most officials are more discreet about showing favoritism than you and three of your colleagues were when you approved the rezoning of a Wiggington Road project and committed taxpayer dollars to pay for 75% of the developer’s infrastructure costs while rejecting a similar request for Ward’s Ferry Road.
With all four business owners claiming the council’s behavior and actions, especially those of Councilman Martin Misjuns, are scaring away future business deals, ABC13’s Hayden Robertson spoke with Vice Mayor Diemer and Councilman Sterling Wilder about the claims. Vice Mayor Diemer doesn’t believe Lynchburg is losing any business.
“I have no belief that they’re actually gonna pause anything,” Vice Mayor Diemer said. “I think as long as businessmen are making money like they’re making money in Lynchburg, they’re gonna keep making money.”
However, Councilman Wilder doesn’t agree and believes the actions of some on the council are harming potential business opportunities in the city.
“They’re running businesses away,” Dr. Wilder said. “It shouldn’t be like that; we need to be a business-friendly community. We shouldn’t have businesses trying to get out of the city. We should have businesses wanting to come in the city, and it’s embarrassing that this is happening.”
During the interview with Vice Mayor Diemer, he shared with Robertson that he did agree with one thing from all four business owners.
“Lynchburg deserves a city council where we follow our own rules, and we try to have civility, and we talk to each other as adults,” Vice Mayor Diemer said.
“At a certain point – when is enough enough? If things continue like this,” ABC13’s Hayden Robertson asked.
“Well, I think everything rises and falls on leadership, and as the mayor and vice mayor of Lynchburg, Larry and I have committed to continue to try to set an example of how to lead. Civility, that horse has been beat to death and it’s still obviously an issue I’m gonna keep working to try to fix it, but I think the main thing we can do for our Lynchburg citizens is lower their taxes and let them keep their own money.”
But as long as the bickering has been going on, Councilman Wilder doesn’t see anything getting better.
It’s getting worse,” Dr. Wilder said. “Mayor Taylor – bless his heart – he doesn’t have control over city council – I mean over the behaviors of city council. What’s happening is really sad that it’s gotten to this. I don’t know what it’s gonna take other than elections to change the city council.”
Vice Mayor Diemer said he’s glad citizens are paying close attention to the city council now, but also hopes they are more concerned with where their money is going. However, all four business owners said that in order for the council to have those discussions, council members need to grow up and learn to compromise.
Vice Mayor Diemer also provided ABC13 with this statement:
Strengthening Lynchburg’s Democracy Through Deliberation
As Lynchburg’s Vice Mayor, I’ve seen firsthand how the deliberative process, rooted in parliamentary procedure, ensures our local government reflects the will of our community. Guided by Robert’s Rules of Order and our city charter, council meetings and public hearings create spaces where residents and officials engage directly. Your questions—whether at a town hall forum or council session—hold us accountable, clarify policies, and highlight oversights. Our debates test ideas, balancing diverse needs with practical realities.
This process is the backbone of representative government in Lynchburg. It amplifies voices, especially from underrepresented groups, fostering inclusive decisions. For instance, public input on budget priorities, like funding for schools or infrastructure, shapes equitable outcomes. When residents probe issues, such as downtown revitalization or public safety, they refine solutions that align with our city’s values. Without this engagement, governance and bureaucrats risk becoming disconnected, leaving residents unheard.
Open and transparent deliberation builds trust, showing Lynchburg residents and tax payers their voices matter. It also counters misinformation by grounding discussions in facts and not emotions. While challenges like time constraints or differing viewpoints exist, the ability to question and debate remains essential to our democracy.
However pay close attention when deliberation falters and when legislators and commenters stray from decorum, making personal comments, naming colleagues or Councilmen directly, or attributing negative motives to their actions. Robert’s Rules of Order emphasizes respectful, issue-focused debate to maintain public trust. Such straying invective conduct undermines this intent, eroding civility and diverting focus from Lynchburg’s priorities.
I encourage every Lynchburg resident to participate—attend a council meeting, join a town hall, or submit your questions. Or at least watch it on video. But it is your voice that actually strengthens our community. I’ve seen it change minds and votes. Let’s keep Lynchburg’s participatory democracy vibrant and responsive.
ABC13’s Hayden Robertson also reached out to the other city council members for a reaction to the emails. Councilwoman Jacqueline Timmer shared that she still believes that the council has no place to discuss another council member’s behavior in closed doors, as she feels that it is more divisive. She also sent the following statement to ABC13 in response to the claims that some business owners are pausing investing in the area:
I am very interested in seeing business opportunities grow and would be happy to meet with any business leaders to that end.
