update4/19/26 It has been over a year since their takeover, and tomorrow the recall trial for Nett begins. It should never have taken this long. In the meantime, they have cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars, reduced reserves to support poor financial decisions, and deepened divisions in our community.
We’ve reached the point where they are even discussing charging parade participants — something many of us never imagined.
We will provide updates after the trial. This is the furthest a recall has gone in Virginia history, and what happens next matters.
Update 3/4/26 - due to an injury the trial has been moved to 4/20-4/22. It was disappointing but life happens. Let’s hope that Commonwealth Attorney Olsen is ok and heals well!
Update 2/24:26 - It has been relatively quiet as the recall has moved through the legal process, but things are now ramping up as the recall trial for Ben Nett approaches.
Over the past several weeks, we have been carefully reviewing evidence, organizing it into a clear and understandable format for trial, and working closely with our attorney to prepare our strategy. Jury preparation and trial preparation are now underway, with the trial set to begin on March 2.
As we enter this final phase, legal costs have increased significantly due to the many hours required for preparation. Every dollar previously raised has been used toward these legal expenses.
We are once again asking for your support to help us carry this effort through to completion. While we are hearing encouraging feedback about the strength of the case, nothing is certain until a jury delivers its decision.
We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received so far, and we appreciate any additional help you are able to give as we move into this critical stage.
edited 7/25/25 - special meeting tonight (7/35) at 6:30 pm
"The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine". The good news.... Justice is finally being served. The rest of the news.... Purcellville's long nightmare isn't over yet.
Until convicted, Ben Nett remains an elected Council Member, and the Vice Mayor until Bertaut and the majority replace him. Kwasi remains the Town Manager until the TC terminates him, and there's that whole Golden Parachute thing written into his contract <UPDATE: I didn't realize he's still on his interim contract so he doesn't have the payout. So that sucks for him>
While enormously satisfying, last night's news isn't connected with the Recall process organized by Purcellville Deserves Better. We're still waiting for CA Eric Olsen's decision to prosecute the Recall as a civil case to remove the 4 corrupt Mayor and CMs. The longer they stay in office, and they will until removed or convicted, the deeper they dig the Town's grave.
If they have any pride, or shame, the gang of 4+1 would take this opportunity to see their future and resign. Then I personally volunteer to show up to help them pack and move out of Town.
But that still won't end the nightmare. Fraser and his long line of failed Council Members (with respect and appreciation to Mary Jane Williams and Stanley Milan for recognizing the truth and doing the right thing) were and are puppets for the ones that hide in the shadows and in the back of the room. You know who they are, and they know that we're on to them.
Welcome to the sunrise, Purcellville. Now- please! Stay awake, stay informed, vote smart in the coming elections. I don't think it's too late for good, honest and caring members of our community to get elected and fix the damage done. But we're teetering on the brink of 'too late'. Any more election cycles that put a BLR slate into office will be the end of Purcellville as we once knew it.
Okay, come on haters. Tell me I'm wrong. But have the courage to stay off that 'Post Anonymously" button.
https://www.loudounnow.com/news/breaking-nett-arrested-by-sheriff-s-deputies-following-grand-jury/article_c5d6df9d-bd6f-4465-a873-3d768c1dd355.html
Edited 6/17/25 - the majority and their campaign manager passed a fiscally unsound budget this evening. They continue to not listen to the experts or paid consultants and think they know better than anyone else. The only good news is they gave us more evidence for the recall. We will pull the footage and FOIA documents to submit to our legal team. Patience in the process is difficult; especially on nights like this.
Edited 6/1/25 -Waiting is never easy, especially when so much is at stake. At this point, the matter is out of our hands and currently rests with the Stafford Commonwealth’s Attorney. We remain in regular contact with our attorney, and all questions and updates are being handled through them.
We truly appreciate everyone’s eagerness to see this resolved quickly—believe us, we feel the same. In the meantime, please continue attending meetings and staying engaged. Your voices matter now more than ever.
Right now, there are efforts underway to manipulate the budget process, with hopes that Nett will be allowed to vote, enabling them to push through financially irresponsible decisions. We must stay focused—not just on the present situation but also on protecting the future of our town from long-term damage.
4/23/25 - we have the final push for signatures today! The more we have the better. The next step is to submit the signatures. Once the signatures are reviewed by the elections board to confirm that all are registered voters who reside in Purcellville. (we have been doing quality check on our own to prevent signatures not counting) the petitions are turned over to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office for review. Should they decide the recall is warranted it goes to a judge for trial. This has been a huge step in the process but there is more to come! Please consider donating to the Recall as we have more steps and expenses to go. We did make adjustment to the funds needed to get through the next steps of the recall process.
We have heard you, Purcellville! We are initiating a recall for Mayor Bertaut, Vice Mayor Nett, Councilwoman Luke, and Councilwoman Khalil. These four have committed FOIA violations, shown incompetence, misuse of office, and neglect of duty. They have shown cronyism by hiring their political ally as Interim Town Manager without interviewing any other candidates or including other town council members. They then decreased the required qualifications for the permanent Town Manager position so their political ally would actually qualify for the position. They have done town business in emails and on systems that prevent public awareness, skirting FOIA requirements. They act like the middle school popular clique by appointing themselves to preferred Town committee liaison positions with less experience in the committee's focus area than other town council members. They have allowed VM Nett to vote on issues that he should have been recused from due to conflict of interest. They continue to support VM Nett even though he has been found to be untrustworthy by the Commonwealth's Attorney. They promised to lower utility bills by subsidizing water/sewer by moving $1.6M from general funds but haven't answered how they are going to make up this money in the general fund. They were voted in by a small majority of town voters and promised to work for the whole town, but that vote tally represents only a third of the registered voters of Purcellville. Rather than working with the whole Town Council and our Town Staff for the benefit of all our residents, the nearly 9,000 that make up the Council's constituency, they have rammed through the positions of a minority of our residents. They have divided our community as no other Mayor and Town Council have in the past.
These four need to go! Virginia's recall process is time consuming and labor intensive. We have retained legal counsel to help guide our efforts to the best chance of success. We have operated with personal contributions up to this point, we need your help to defray the costs of pursuing this effort for the benefit of our Town, to ensure the future fiscal health for all of Purcellville. Contributions in excess of the needs of this recall campaign will be donated in a manner that will benefit our Purcellville community.
Thank you for your help... Purcellville Deserves Better!
Update: we appreciate all the support! As many of you know Vice Mayor Nett threatened us with civil and criminal charges. While we know we are doing everything right we have put a lawyer on retainer to assist us through this process. Due to that we increased the hoped for donations to cover just the retainer.
Update - they continue to show their corruption by making Kwasi Fraser Town Manager while ignoring the 80 resumes submitted - many who had actual experience. They continue to do their backdoor politics by announcing the disbandment of the Purcellville Police Department without any input from other council members or the public. That isn’t the transparency they promised. We need to push hard for signatures so we can recall them.
Update 4/15 - Signatures are going very well! Thank you for the support and spread the word. Expenses are adding up with $10K for legal, insurance costs, printing, advertising and event costs. The next week is a big push to get the signatures needed and your help is appreciated!
4/23/25 - we have the final push for signatures today! The more we have the better. The next step is to submit the signatures. Once the signatures are reviewed by the elections board to confirm that all are registered voters who reside in Purcellville. (we have been doing quality check on our own to prevent signatures not counting) the petitions are turned over to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office for review. Should they decide the recall is warranted it goes to a judge for trial. This has been a huge step in the process but there is more to come! Please confer donating to the Recall as we have more steps and expenses to go. We did make adjustment to the funds needed to get through the next steps of the recall process.