On Friday, July 24, 2026, Citizens for Purcellville sent the following survey questions along with a form letter to each of the Town of Purcellville Mayoral and Council Member candidates in the 2026 general election. The survey was transmitted to the candidate’s email addresses of record as indicated on their filed Declaration of Candidacy, which was obtained from the Loudoun County Board of Elections.
The survey was transmitted electronically via email (as displayed below) with both Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF options also included. To ensure that each candidate received the survey a hard copy printout of the letter and survey was also sent on Friday, July 24th via the United States Postal Service first class mail to the candidate’s campaign mailing address of record.
As of the requested deadline of Sunday August 2nd, 5pm we had received responses from the following candidates (listed in the order which they were received):
- Council Member Candidate and Incumbent Council Member Kevin Wright
- Mayoral Candidate and current Council Member Erin Rayner
- Council Member Candidate Mitch Seipt
- Council Member Candidate Paul McCray
As of the time of this posting, we have not received any response from the following candidates:
- Mayoral Candidate and Incumbent Mayor Christopher Bertaut
- Council Member Candidate Gregory Paris
- Council Member Candidate H. Sam Brown, Jr.
We received an email inquiry from Council Member Candidate Hank Speckhardt on Saturday August, 1st which simply contained the following:
This was our reply:
As of this posting, Mr Speckhardt has also not submitted any other materials or replied to our response.
The text of the letter/survey as emailed is as follows:
Citizens for Purcellville
www.citizensforpurcellville.org
Dear <Candidate Name>:
The Citizens for Purcellville coalition was formed by a group of town residents and business owners who are dedicated to seeing our town be the best it can be. As such, we are deeply interested in hearing (and sharing with the community) information about each of the candidates in the upcoming 2026 election for Mayor and Town Council. We are also interested in learning about the issues that you believe that our town faces and strategies that you will take to address them.
To that end, we are sending this survey to each of the registered candidates in the upcoming election. These questions were submitted by town residents and representatives of businesses within the town. While we cannot prevent it, we ask that you do not collaborate with other candidates while responding to this survey.
Responses will be listed on our public website, www.citizensforpurcellville.org. While we are a registered Political Action Committee, we welcome your input in the process of educating local voters on important topics impacting our community.
Please return surveys at your earliest convenience. Typed responses are appreciated, either within the attached document, as a numbered email response, or in a separate document that you generate yourself.
Responses will be added to the Citizens for Purcellville website as they are received and without editing. Candidates will be listed in the order which they will be listed on the ballot (based on candidacy filing date). Should you not choose to participate by 5pm on Sunday August 2nd, we will make note of your non-response after that date and provide voters with publicly accessible biographical information. Should you choose not to respond or participate in this survey, a reply to this email indicating such desire is appreciated.
Based on the answers provided, we may reach out with additional follow-up questions specific to your answers.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions via email at admin@citizensforpurcellville.org. Surveys may be submitted electronically via email. For your convenience a fillable PDF file and Microsoft Word Document is also attached.
Thank you for your support of citizen engagement in the election process!
Citizens for Purcellville Candidate Survey
Candidate Name (As listed on Ballot):
Candidate Age:
Occupation / Employer (Employer Optional):
Education:
How long have you been a resident of the Town of Purcellville?
Please provide a short biography of your experience and qualifications for the office that you seek.
Please describe some of the ways or organizations in which you have been involved within our community outside of elected public service (Please include relevant dates):
Citizens for Purcellville Question: Describe your personal vision for the town over the next 5-10 years?
Citizens for Purcellville Question: Looking back at the previous 5-10 years of town history and governance by the town council, if you could change one significant action or decision by town council, what would it be?
Citizens for Purcellville Question: What do you consider the most important issue for the new Town Council to address at their first meeting in January?
Resident Question: In 2025, the Town Council took initial actions to defund and disband the town’s police department. What is your position regarding the town’s police department and will you affirm to voters in your answer to this question that you will not support or empower any future attempts to eliminate the Purcellville Police Department?
Resident Question: The cost of improvements to aging infrastructure, particularly the town’s water system has been a big topic during the current term. Actions by previous town councils in the form of maintenance deferrals, utility rates not rising in conjunction with rising costs, and not following recommendations by staff or independent consultants, has resulted in the prospect of significant financial burden to both the town and to residents. What are your plans to address the issue of infrastructure and utility rates?
Business Question: The matter of water and sewer rates seems to be a regular topic for the Town. As I understand, current budget policy is to divert funds from the general fund as well as part of the meals tax revenue to subsidize water rates. Do you feel that this is fair and in the best interest of businesses/restaurants in town who already pay proportionally more for water per month than the majority of households?
Resident Question: One of the first split decisions of the current town council regarded the annexation of the property upon which the Valley Commerce Center is now approved to occupy. Can you speak to your opinion about future annexation, if such action may ever be warranted, or what might have been done differently with regards to the VCC project?
Business Question: The Town of Purcellville requires businesses to pay a business license tax. This tax amount is directly tied to the annual gross income that a business conducts, as such, larger businesses pay larger taxes to the town. What value or services does the town provide for these fees and what do you believe that the town should be doing to support local businesses or economic development?
Business Question: In 2025, the Town Council removed support for the Purcellville Main Street Program. Do you believe that this action was appropriate / in the best interest of the town and why? What is your personal position on Economic Development within the Town of Purcellville?
Resident Question: What steps will you take to improve working relationships between town council members and/or town council and town staff?
Resident Question: Do you feel that tourism is important to our town? If so, what steps will you take to grow or encourage tourism within the town limits?
Resident Question: “Slow growth” is a phrase often used in campaign literature. Define the term, provide examples of “slow growth” or where we have NOT seen “slow growth”, and explain what initiatives you will establish to achieve it.
Resident Question: “Transparency” is another phrase used in this election’s campaign literature. Define the term, provide examples of “transparency” or examples of actions where we have NOT seen “transparency”, and explain what initiatives you will establish to achieve it.
Resident Question: Data centers and high voltage transmission lines are a hot topic in Loudoun County right now. Please provide any commentary you may have on the issue.
Please feel free to add any additional comments or discussion you would like to include: