In Battle Ground, Washington, something much larger than standard commercial growth is taking place. Over the last few years, a single entity—Maddox Industrial Transformer, owned by brothers Camden and Mac Spiller—has systematically bought up over 30 downtown properties. From buying the city’s only local newspaper (The Reflector) to installing company employees into civic leadership like the Mayor’s office and school board, Maddox is quietly constructing a modern-day “company town.”
Now, that takeover has extended directly into Battle Ground’s social life through BG Hospitality Collective—a Maddox-affiliated group that owns Al & Ernie’s Bakery Café, operates the local Farmers Market, and recently acquired Tukes Taphouse.
While BG Hospitality’s PR machine paints a picture of “strengthening community through welcoming, family-friendly spaces,” the man appointed as General Manager and Director of these operations tells a completely different story.
That man is James Townley.
The Face of BG Hospitality: Pulpit Ideology & Public Hate
To understand the vision behind BG Hospitality, you have to look at where James Townley spends his time when he isn’t managing local taphouses.
Townley serves as a preacher alongside C.R. Wiley at First Presbyterian Church in Battle Ground—a church heavily backed by Maddox funds that is currently constructing a massive 16,000-square-foot chapel and convention center in town. C.R. Wiley, a vocal figure linked to Doug Wilson’s hardline Moscow, Idaho movement, has openly described their mission as an “experiment in Christian localism,” declaring that the ultimate goal of their movement is providing the “resources to govern unbelievers.”
This isn’t about personal faith. It’s about dominance.
When Camden Spiller publicly describes his company’s expansion as a “colonization kind of approach”, James Townley’s sermons on SermonAudio and his social media presence show exactly what that colonization looks like in practice.
The Digital Footprint: What James Townley Truly Believes
A quick look at James Townley’s public X (Twitter) account (@TenezLeVraye) strips away any illusion that BG Hospitality is built for “everyone in Battle Ground”:
- Racism and Xenophobia: Townley consistently posts content mocking racial justice efforts, attacking minority communities, and using white nationalist talking points to frame American identity as strictly European and Christian.
- Islamophobia: His posts depict Muslims not as neighbors or fellow citizens, but as an existential, demonic threat to be eradicated from public life.
- Misogyny & Male Headship: In line with C.R. Wiley’s patriarchal theology, Townley’s posts reduce women to domestic subservience, mock female leadership in business or government, and aggressively attack women’s autonomy.
This isn’t an employee making a mistake on a personal account. This is the General Manager and Director put in charge of the venues where Battle Ground families eat, gather, and spend their hard-earned money.
Why This Matters to Battle Ground
When Maddox Industrial buys up local infrastructure, they aren’t just investing dollars; they are buying the power to decide who belongs in Battle Ground and who doesn’t.
They control the news you read (The Reflector). They influence the city council. And through BG Hospitality, they control your local gathering places.
When you buy a coffee at Al & Ernie’s or a beer at Tukes Taphouse, your money goes directly into funding a machine led by people who view non-believers, women, Muslims, and minorities as subjects to be “governed” and quieted.
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