Mayor and town council recall, Purcellville, Virginia (2025)
| Purcellville mayor and town council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Ben Nett Susan Khalil Carol Luke |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Virginia Virginia recall laws City council recalls Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Mayor Christopher Bertaut, Vice Mayor Ben Nett, and Town Councilors Susan Khalil and Carol Luke is underway in Purcellville, Virginia.[1]
Recall supporters
Purcellville resident Brian Morgan is organizing the recall effort. Morgan has given alleged violations of the Freedom of Information Act, the firing of Town Manager Rick Bremseth and the hiring of Kwasi Fraser to serve as the interim town manager, ethical concerns related to Nett's role as a police officer, and incompetence as reasons for the recall effort.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Virginia
In the case of a successful recall petition, Virginia does not hold recall elections. Instead, the petition is sent to the circuit court for trial. Virginia allows the following grounds for recall: neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties when that neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office.[2] The petition for recall must be signed by at least 10% of the number of people who voted in the last election for the office. The state does not have a time limit for circulating petitions.[3]
On April 28, 2025, recall organizers announced that they had submitted about 1,200 signatures for each official.[4] The Loudoun County Office of Elections certified the signatures and forwarded the recall petition to the county commonwealth's attorney for review.[5]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Purcellville, Virginia
- Recall campaigns in Virginia
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
- Mayoral recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 LoudounNow, "Purcellville Residents Launch Recall Effort for Council Majority," March 25, 2025
- ↑ Code of Virginia, "§ 24.2-233. (Effective until January 1, 2024) Removal of elected and certain appointed officers by courts." accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ Code of Virginia, "§ 24.2-233. (Effective until January 1, 2024) Removal of elected and certain appointed officers by courts." accessed October 17, 2023
- ↑ ABC 7, "Purcellville recall organizers turn in signatures in effort to boot 4 elected officials," April 28, 2025
- ↑ ABC 7, "Loudoun Co. elections office certifies petitions to recall Purcellville elected officials," May 14, 2025
