With a population of roughly 9,000, the small town of Purcellville may look quiet and unassuming, but major drama has been brewing for more than a year.
A Town in Turmoil
In January 2025, the Town Council welcomed a new mayor, Christopher Bertaut, and two new council members, including Vice Mayor Carl “Ben” Nett, a police officer who moved to Purcellville in 2019.
Nett promptly introduced a motion to fire then–Town Manager Rick Bremseth. It passed 4 to 3. Former Mayor Kwasi Fraser was appointed interim town manager.
Nett was put on administrative leave from the police department in February 2025 under allegations that he was performing duties as vice mayor on police time. He was fired in April 2025.
Police Chief Barry Dufek retired early last year after only a few months on the job. Deputy Chief Sara Lombraña was appointed interim chief.
In April, shortly after Nett’s firing, the Town Council voted to disband the police department, saying police responsibilities could be handled by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Department and save the town nearly $4 million a year.
The Coalition on Loudoun Towns, made up of mayors from each of the county’s seven towns, sent a letter to Bertaut informing him that he was suspended from the group because of “ethically questionable practices.” Local residents also began circulating a petition to have Bertaut, Nett, and others recalled.
Two weeks later, Loudoun’s sheriff’s department said they hadn’t been consulted about the plan, and the council reversed course and reinstated the police department.
In July, Nett and Fraser were arrested and charged with eight felonies between them regarding an alleged conspiracy over the hiring of a consulting firm to assess the police department. The two are accused of having discussed the work with a particular consultant firm before hiring them. Nett wrote a letter to the consultant with his own plan for restructuring the police department that included appointing him as chief.
Nett and Fraser are each charged with fraud and bid-rigging; Nett has also been charged with four additional felonies amid accusations he used police databases to obtain information about political opponents.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges; their next court date is in September.
In January 2026, Nett filed a federal lawsuit against fellow council members Erin Rayner, Caleb Stought, and Kevin Wright, as well as town Assistant Manager Diana Hays, Human Resources Director LaDonna Snellbaker, Lombraña, Police Lt. Mike Holman, and Commonwealth Attorney Bob Anderson. Nett is seeking $41.4 million in damages.
Lombraña, who hasn’t been appointed as permanent police chief (although the hiring panel convened by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police endorsed her unanimously) has also sued the town and Nett.
What’s Really Going On?
Nett and Bertaut, along with council members Susan Khalil and Carol Luke, constitute a majority bloc on the council. They call themselves “Team Mayberry” and claim they are fighting to keep Purcellville’s small-town vibe despite the development that’s spread throughout Northern Virginia.
Former state Sen. Dick Black, who attended Nett’s and Fraser’s first court appearance last July, called the criminal charges against them “lawfare of the worst kind.” He said the real issue was a proposal by local businessman Chuck Kuhn to have Purcellville annex 117 acres outside the town for a business park.
“I don’t think it’s about one specific proposal,” says Purcellville resident Alicia Lennon, “but I do think that the general cultural battle does have an overriding theme of pro-development/anti-development.”
She watches the council meetings online and calls the atmosphere “contentious and in a way unbelievable.”
Nett has said the results of the elections that put him and his allies in the majority reflect the will of the people. At the same time, nearly 1,200 residents have signed the petitions for the recall of Nett, Bertaut, and Khalil, all of whom were first elected in 2024, as well as Luke.
Bottom line: The battles rage on. And while daily life in Purcellville is relatively stable, Lennon says, the contentiousness “makes people feel like less of a community.”
Feature image, Mark Summerfield/Alamy Stock Photo
This story originally ran in our April 2026 issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
