In 2008, Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. declared it his hope that Liberty U would "go down in history as the college that elected a president."
That dream died when John McCain lost the election, but Falwell has been hard at work making the most of LU's political power in Lynchburg by running campus-wide voter registration drives, busing students to the polls, and then taking credit for delivering a state House seat for a Republican candidate.
Sensing its growing importance in the area, Liberty recently demanded that the Lynchburg City Council move the polling places used by LU students right on to campus for their convenience; a move which the City Council rejected, much to LU's outrage.
Well, now a Liberty U student has announced that he is running for a seat on the Lynchburg City Council ... and, wouldn't you know it, LU is sending out thousands of letters urging everyone to vote in the election in May:
Liberty University continues its push to register voters for Lynchburg's May City Council elections with a mass mailing.
Earlier this week, donors and the university sent out 10,000 letters to alumni, supporters, and online students urging them to register.
The letter doesn’t go as far as to endorse any candidates, but it expresses Liberty's desire to grow with fewer restrictions.
Liberty co-founder Dr. Elmer Towns wrote it and writes in it that the city council election is critical in making that happen.
The letter says "Lynchburg City Council will cost LU great amounts of money as they grow," referring to millions of dollars in infrastructure projects when the university hits 12,000 on-campus students.
"Which is absolutely crazy for the city to mandate those types of things that Liberty has to do in order to grow," Liberty University official Lee Beaumont said.
The city says LU agreed to these improvements in a conditional-use permit in June 2008. Beaumont says those projects would increase tuition and affect growth, and the LU community needs to be aware.
...
The letter is a call to elect members to city council who will set favorable development policies for Liberty ... "I say get out there and vote. Get off your butt, register, make sure you're registered and show up for a city council election," [Beaumont] said.
