Freedman, 38, was appointed in a unanimous vote by council and will assume the position Thursday.Â
He has served in the city attorney s office since May 2020, and prior to coming to Lynchburg, was town attorney in Bluefield, Virginia, for four and a half years. Before that, he worked as a regional drug prosecutor and assistant commonwealth s attorney in Halifax County, as well as an assistant commonwealth s attorney in Danville.  Iâm honored to be able to serve the city and also to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Erwin who really is a legend in local government, Freedman said. So that is very humbling and honoring for me.
A Lynchburg fire captain who has been criticized in recent months for posting controversial political cartoons on his Facebook page has filed a lawsuit against the city and multiple individual officials, alleging they violated his rights to free speech and religion.
The complaint was filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court by Lynchburg Fire Department Capt. Marty Misjuns in late March. The city, fire department, interim city manager, mayor and vice mayor are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the city took adverse employment action against Misjuns because of political cartoons he reposted on his Facebook page. The cartoons, which local LGBTQ organizations and transgender members of the Lynchburg community said were transphobic, were posted in late January and included caricaturized illustrations of transgender women that leaned heavily on stereotypes.