Purcellville candidates unite to save small town

By Chris Bertaut, Ben Nett, Brian Green, Susan Khalil, and Jon Arnburg

Mayberry Not Metropolis. These three simple words have resonated with the majority of Purcellville residents. Citizens are weary of out-of-control utility costs, the pettiness and personal attacks emanating from Town Hall, and the continual push for mass urbanization that threatens to destroy our small town community of neighbors. 

Developers have successfully killed nearly every blade of grass in eastern Loudoun County, pouring as much concrete and asphalt as possible. Now, land speculators want to transform western Loudoun in similar fashion. They envision industrial parks, high-rise buildings, and big box stores that, they say, will bring in more tax revenue. 

It will bring something else—an increasing transient population, more drugs, more crime, more traffic, and the destruction of small town life. Purcellville will be “Loudoun’s rural destination” no more. 

We certainly embrace traditional American capitalism—not to be confused with the crony capitalism threatening Purcellville. We have great respect for business owners and understand the desires of developers to break ground on new projects and cash in on their investments. 

However, those of us who live here (they don’t!) are not obligated to sacrifice our quality of life for their personal enrichment. Sometimes, being progressive means holding on to what you have. 

“Mayberry” is not about regressing to a bygone era. Nor is it about staying trapped in time. There are plenty of opportunities for economic revitalization, to include our historic downtown district. There are plenty of improvements to make in our infrastructure. There is plenty of work to do to streamline our business licensing procedures. It is absurd, for example, that it took a neighborhood coffee shop more than one year to obtain the necessary permits and licenses to open its doors to the public. We can do better.

As candidates for Purcellville Mayor and Town Council, we welcome the support of all who love Purcellville as their home, and all who cherish Purcellville as a great place to live, to work, and to raise a family. 

The Town of Purcellville elections are non-partisan. Taxes, safety, traffic and growth do not have a party.

We are committed to taking on the challenges affecting our town—the skyrocketing utility costs (water and wastewater rates), for example, which are driving many residents out of town and which threaten to negatively impact our property values. 

For this slate of candidates, continually raising rates without a search for meaningful alternatives is not an option. We must, and will, reduce general fund spending to pay down the debt on our wastewater facility in order to minimize further rate increases. We must, and will, preserve the character of our town—Christmas and July 4th parades, baseball games at Fireman’s Field, flag-lined streets on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, community festivals, and close-knit neighborhoods free of the ravages of cut-through traffic brought about by overdevelopment as our main arteries become clogged.

This November 5th, voters must decide whether they want the continued utility rate increases and unlimited commercial growth advocated by our opposition, or a return to fiscal responsibility and managed growth as envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan.

The five of us are running as a slate because we are committed to reducing spending, increasing government transparency, and managing growth in keeping with the aesthetics of our town. You can learn more about us at https://mayberrynotmetropolis.com/meet-the-team.