Ben Nett enters race for Purcellville Town Council in the Nov. 5 General Election 

Purcellville resident Carl “Ben” Nett joined the Purcellville Police Department in 2022 and subsequently graduated first in his class from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy in Ashburn, Virginia. More recently, Nett received the Sheriff’s Meritorious Action Award for spearheading an investigation into a stolen firearm, arresting an illegal alien MS-13-affiliated middle school student who was on his way to school with the loaded weapon. 

No stranger to adventure, Nett embarked on a second career with local law enforcement after more than 20 years in national security positions. Nett is a former member of the Presidential Protective Division of the U.S. Secret Service, a former contract Intelligence Officer with the CIA, and the former Director of the Military Commissions Privilege Team at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nett has received a conditional offer of appointment from the FBI as a Special Agent and written a book on American history endorsed by the late Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the Battle of Iwo Jima. 

Nett’s candidacy for Town Council has been approved by the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council, which cites VA Code 15.2-1512.2, outlining the rights of First Responders to engage in political activity. “Purcellville is my home,” says Nett. “It’s where I live, where I work, and where my wife and I have chosen to raise our children.”  

Nett lists his priorities as reducing the town’s debt, funding public safety, revitalizing the town’s many dilapidated structures, improving the flow of traffic, investing in infrastructure, and streamlining license and permit practices for the benefit of new small-business development. 

“Above all,” says Nett, “I intend to preserve Purcellville as a small-town community of neighbors. I oppose the construction of data centers, industrial parks, high-rise office buildings, subsidized housing, and other hallmarks of mass urbanization that invariably lead to an increasingly transient population and, with that, higher taxes, higher utility rates, more drugs and more crime.”  

Nett adds: “I’m a pragmatic person. As such, I fully understand that growth is inevitable. It’s our responsibility, and our right, to make sure the growth that occurs is desirable.” 

Nett’s campaign slogan is “Mayberry Not Metropolis” – an ode to the iconic small town in the classic television series The Andy Griffith Show. More information on Nett, and his candidacy, is available at https://nettfortowncouncil.com.