Rayner appointed Vice Mayor

By Valerie Cury

It is customary to appoint a new vice mayor every year for the Purcellville Town Council. At the Jan. 9 Purcellville Town Council Meeting Council Member Erin Rayner was appointed Vice Mayor for the year. The vote was 6-1 with then Vice Mayor Chris Bertaut voting no. 

“I just want to remind the mayor,” said Bertaut, “that Council Member Rayner is the individual who falsely accused him of taking peeping Tom type pictures of her at a town council meeting. I just don’t think she is the best person suited for the position.”

Bertaut was referring to a town council meeting in July 2022 when Council Member Erin Rayner falsely accused then Council Member Stan Milan of “taking up close photos and videos” of her from the dais at a meeting. Rayner’s letter accusing Milan of inappropriate behavior was read into the record by Council Member Mary Jane Williams, as Rayner was absent.

Replying to Bertaut’s comment to Milan, Council Member Mary Jane Williams said, “I believe that Ms. Rayner is the best person for this, bringing in the business aspect working with EDAC. And my thought is to bring up the past – we’re trying to move forward – is what we should do.”

Milan said he needed fresh ideas and he knew where Rayner stands. “It’s a confidant,” he said. 

In 2020 Milan, Williams and Bertaut ran together with then Mayor Kwasi Fraser on a slow growth platform against the heavily developer funded Rayner. Milan also ran for mayor on the same platform. Since that time, Williams and Milan have aligned themselves with Rayner and other pro-development council members. 

Since 2020 to present Rayner has raised $72,476 with $32,000 coming from area developers including the developers of Vineyard Square and their affiliates. Through her campaign she donated $10,178 to Caleb Stought. In his most recent campaign one of the owners of Vineyard Square held a fundraiser for him.