We thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at the funding sources for campaigns and other political activity in the town of Purcellville. This is our first post, in a series that we plan to publish that will cover all of the financial reports from Purcellville Town Council and Mayoral candidates in the 2026 election..
In this post, we will specifically be discussing the mayoral candidates and some of the impressions that we have from reviewing their 2026 financial reports for activity up to August 31, 2026.
Since we have continually faced claims of bias and unfairness, and since this is our own “obviously biased” analysis, so we encourage each voter to review finance reports for themselves at the State Board of Elections (SBE) website: https://cfreports.elections.virginia.gov/
Additional analytics are available via the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP): https://www.vpap.org. VPAP utilizes the data from the State Board of Elections website, but it may or may not include the most recent data. In reviewing VPAP we did find that some information did not match what we found on the SBE website. (The largest omission we found is the fact that Citizens For Purcellville’s financial reporting is not yet available on VPAP.)
For the purposes of this analysis, we are only looking at contributions in Calendar Year 2026, however we have also tried to provide a little background information for each candidate’s financial status entering 2026. Both mayoral candidates had previous funds and multiple campaign committees in the SBE database for prior election cycles.
We have also chosen to omit most specific donor information from this report, with the exception of the Brown Family. We are including specific information related to campaign contributions by the Browns due to the fact that Sam Brown is one of the candidates in the race, which we believe gives us more leeway into naming their specific financial involvement. We have also specifically called out financial support from Carl “Ben” Nett, which we feel is reasonable and prudent given his specific role as an elected official, an individual found by jury to have violated town policy and the Virginia Conflicts of Interest Act. (by clear and convincing evidence)
This analysis contains information as reported through August 31, 2026 at the State Board of Elections website. Financial reports were due on September 15th, and we have worked diligently to provide details as clearly and factually as possible.
We are open to questions, comments, and general discussion as long as it remains civil. Please feel free to post comments or contact us via DM or on our website.
CHRIS BERTAUT (Incumbent)
REPORTED CASH ON HAND (as of August 31, 2026): $3,087.45
The mayor has three different campaign committees in the SBE database.
‘Bertaut for Mayor’ is his current campaign committee. Based on SBE reports, his campaign committee for the 2026 election was established on May 19, 2026. His committee was formed as a new entity.
Mayor Bertaut carried no previous campaign money into this election.
His 2024 reports indicate that he spent the bulk of his committee funds in the election, with his final report including an unspent balance of $16.38. This surplus was reported as donated to ‘Parylyzed Veterans of America’ [sic] in November 2024 and recorded as a charitable donation in his final report in that campaign cycle.
INCOME
As of the last finance report (submitted on September 15, 2026), Bertaut for Mayor had deposited a total of $7,525 in direct contributions this election cycle. These deposits include:
- Personal Direct Contribution: $4,400. This is his own money contributed to the campaign with no expectation of reimbursement.
- Reported Donor Direct Contributions: $2,150 (6 Contributions) Reported donors have contributed more than $100 cumulatively in this election cycle. Donations from this donor group ranged from $200 – $1000 (Mean: $430, Median: $250, Mode: $200)
- Small Direct Contributions Less than or Equal to $100: $975. (11 contributions)
In addition to direct cash contributions, the committee reported In-Kind Contributions totalling $3,620.55 from Carl Nett. This is the reported value of the direct mail campaign mailer that Carl “Ben” Nett sent to residents in town, which included fundraising materials for the ‘Bertaut for Mayor’ committee.
A review of VPAP data shows that Mayor Bertaut has brought in significantly less this election cycle than in 2024.
LOANS
The mayor also reported a loan made by him personally to the campaign in the amount of $9,55.75. Based on his reported expenditures, this coincides with the a payment made for an equivalent amount of $955.75 to “Sign Rocket” (St Paul Park, MN) for “Qty 100 yard signs. 25 each for Bertaut, Speckhardt,Brown, and Paris”. As of the end of August, he has not repaid himself from campaign funds for this loan.
EXPENDITURES
The bulk of the Mayor’s expenditures ($5,393.30 in direct expenses) is directly related to the political signs he has placed for himself and members of his slate (Brown, Speckhardt, Paris) around town.
He also has an “expenditure” of $3,620.55 for campaign/fundraiser mailers, which was paid for and reported as an in-kind donation from Carl “Ben” Nett, but authorized by Bertaut for Mayor.
As of August 31st, the mayor has total expenditures of $9,013.85 (actual + in-kind).
DONOR ANALYSIS
Utilizing the campaign’s filed financial reports, we have attempted to match reported donors to known industries based on public information and job descriptions. While we believe that we have been thorough and diligent in our research and analysis, note that there may be errors in this data.
Another significant change with regards to donors, is the lack of significant financial support from the Brown Family for the mayor or any other candidate including Sam Brown, Jr himself. In 2024, Uta Brown was the mayor’s largest contributor ($10,000).
Collectively, we have identified VPAP records that indicate the Brown family has spent as much as $38,900 in previous years. Despite this history of political spending, no member of the Brown family appears to be listed as significant donors in this campaign cycle.
(Note: CFP didn’t bother to contact any representative of the Brown Family or Bertaut Campaign, because we don’t expect any sort of response to such queries.)
ERIN RAYNER
REPORTED CASH ON HAND (as of August 31, 2026): $14,731.59
Council Member Rayner has three different campaign committees in the SBE database.
‘Friends of Erin Rayner 2026’ is her current campaign committee. Based on SBE reports, her campaign committee for the 2026 election was established on January 6, 2025. Her committee was established as an amendment to her previous candidate committee.
Entering into the 2026 election cycle, Friends of Erin Rayner reported a carry-in balance of $15,275.71. This is carry-over of reserves from previous campaigns/fiscal years. In CY2025, she reported contributions of $7,099.60, which were related to fundraising for legal fees.
(Disclosure: Citizens for Purcellville Director Josh Shields, contributed $300 to Friends of Erin Rayner towards legal fees in November 2025).
INCOME
As of the last finance report (submitted on September 15, 2026), Friends of Erin Rayner 2026 had deposited a total of $20,890 in direct contributions this election cycle. These deposits include:
- Reported Donor Direct Contributions: $19,170 (33 contributions) Reported donors have contributed more than $100 cumulatively in this election cycle. Donations from this donor group ranged from $100 – $2500 (Mean: $605, Median: $250, Mode: $250)
- Small Direct Contributions Less than or Equal to $100: $1,720 (21 contributions)
In addition to direct cash contributions, the committee reported In-Kind Contributions totalling $1,400 from Kelly Marie Advisory. This is the reported fair market value for Marketing Consulting services provided to the campaign.
Based on our analysis of previous financial reports from the Friends of Erin Rayner, the committee’s intake is has increased slightly this election cycle, however Erin has previously been able to leverage strong community, business, and political ties in previous cycles to successfully raise funds.
That said, the number of individual reported donors has increased significantly this year as compared to last election years. Also, unlike the Bertaut for Mayor committee which has had significant contributions by the candidate, it does not appear that Friends of Erin Rayner has had any significant contributions by the candidate this cycle.
LOANS
Friends for Erin Rayner has not reported any loans or outstanding debts.
EXPENDITURES
Friends for Erin Rayner has spent significantly more this season to date than the mayor. The committee reports spending a total of $21,713.75 with a breakdown of spending as depicted below. Due to the larger number of expense categories, we are unable to present this information graphically.
| Legal Services | $ 7,007.74 | 32% |
| Campaign Materials | $ 6,674.12 | 31% |
| Mailings | $ 2,929.87 | 13% |
| Marketing | $ 2,000.00 | 9% |
| Catering | $ 1,220.51 | 6% |
| Event Sponsorship | $ 500.00 | 2% |
| Campaign Event | $ 450.00 | 2% |
| Misc Supplies | $ 357.26 | 2% |
| Administrative Expense | $ 241.79 | 1% |
| Facebook Ads | $ 114.00 | 1% |
| Service Fees | $ 98.40 | >1% |
| Permits | $ 70.00 | >1% |
| Website | $ 50.06 | >1% |
| Cash Expenditures | $ 21,713.75 | |
| In-Kind “Expenditures” | $ 1,400.00 | |
| ”Total Expenditures” | $ 23,113.75 |
DONOR ANALYSIS
Due to the larger number of contributors, it’s also difficult to graph out donations to the Friends of Erin Rayner committee. However, we have provided a table below based on what we could gather from her 2026 contributions/contributors reporting.
Corporate donors make up a significant portion of her income, with 7 corporate donors providing a total of $9,250 in receipts. This represents 44.2% of her overall income. The largest portion of corporate donors (29%) appears to be different property management or property ownership companies all reporting the same address (117 N. Bailey Ln), which is the corporate offices of Horizon Community Services and Valley Energy.
| Property – Corporation | $ 6,000.00 | 29% |
| Energy – Corporation | $ 2,500.00 | 12% |
| Legal – Corporation | $ 500.00 | 2% |
| Technology – Corporation | $ 250.00 | 1% |
$750 (4% of total income, 2 contributions) was contributed by political organizations or other candidate committees in 2026.
The remaining roughly 52% of her income ($11,320, 45 contributions) is sourced from individuals. These individuals report employment that is distributed across multiple industries:
| Fabrication / Manufacturing | $ 2,500.00 | 12% |
| Professional Consulting | $ 1,900.00 | 9% |
| Technology | $ 1,300.00 | 6% |
| Small Business Owner | $ 1,000.00 | 5% |
| Political Organization | $ 750.00 | 4% |
| Medical | $ 700.00 | 3% |
| Retired | $ 700.00 | 3% |
| Government / Public Service | $ 570.00 | 3% |
| Public Education | $ 500.00 | 2% |
| Finance | $ 450.00 | 2% |
| Legal | $ 450.00 | 2% |
| Defense | $ 250.00 | 1% |
| Homemaker | $ 250.00 | 1% |
As previously mentioned, we did find 3 corporate donations by LLCs that are established for the purpose of holding commercial property and one LLC that appears to be related to cattle breeding and livestock property holding. One individual donor is employed in the fabrication/manufacture of commercial glass, however this company is registered in Sterling, VA while the donor appears to be a local resident.
In conducting an analysis of corporate and individual donors and cross referencing with both the Board of Elections database and State Corporation Commission, we could find no specific connections with or donations from local or regional corporations whose primary business is construction related nor could we find specific connections to any companies that specialize in residential/commercial land development for lease/sale.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS & THOUGHTS
While we are happy to let each individual reader make their own conclusions, we thought we would summarize some key items:
- It appears that financial support for Mayor Bertaut is weakened compared to previous election cycles and he is fronting a majority of his campaign expenditures.
- Expenditure reports indicate the Mayor is also providing all of or a significant portion of the expenditures for Greg Paris, Sam Brown, and Hank Speckhardt. (Note: we intend to publish similar analysis of the other six candidates in the days to come.)
- A significant percentage of Mayor Bertaut’s overall expenditure to date was funded through in-kind contributions by Carl “Ben” Nett, who himself has been involved in extensive controversy on multiple issues and is currently suspended from his role as Vice Mayor pending resolution two felony trials.
- Council Member Rayner has continued her strong history of fundraising in previous election cycles. She continues to leverage community and political connections to establish financial advantage through a diverse and growing group of individual and corporate donors.
- In addition to being in a stronger financial position with regards to cash on hand (4.7 – 1), the Rayner Campaign is outspending the Bertaut campaign by more than a 2-1 ratio.
- We could make no apparent connections to or find evidence of the large cash contributions from “developers and data centers” that the Blue Ridge Leader, Mayor Bertaut, and his political allies accuse Erin Rayner of accepting.
- Donations from long reliable funding sources to the self-described “slow-growth slate” / Blue Ridge Leader aligned candidates have failed to materialize this cycle (at least as of August 31, 2026)