The Blacksburg Town Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday will include a public hearing on the council’s intention to appoint Joel Goodhart and Andrew Kassoff to the two empty council seats vacated by Mayor Michael Sutphin and legally embattled Liam Watson.
Goodhart finished fourth of five candidates in last November’s town council election. He garnered 4,852 votes after campaigning for better streets and transportation, community well-being and growth, and comprehensive housing. “Connection, resilience and livability” is how Goodhart summarized his platform in September 2025.
Goodhart, born and raised in the New River Valley, currently serves on the town’s Housing and Community Development Advisory Board. According to Goodhart’s campaign website, he has stepped away from his career as a full-time technology teacher with Montgomery County Public Schools to care for his two young children. Before becoming a teacher, Goodhart worked as the operations manager for the YMCA at Virginia Tech. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Tech and lives in Blacksburg with his wife and family.
Andrew “Andy” Kassoff has served on the Blacksburg Planning Commission since 2010. The commission plays an important role in land use decisions, such as zoning policies — one of the town council’s primary focuses for 2026. Kassoff had a 43-year career in environmental engineering before retiring as director of Wetland Studies and Solutions Inc. in 2024. Kassoff joined WSSI in 2020 after it acquired the environmental engineering company that he opened in Blacksburg in 2004. Kassoff holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from James Madison University and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Virginia Tech.
In emails on Jan. 5, Sutphin described releasing a list of candidates: “I believe we will have a list of candidates available sometime after tomorrow’s work session and before the Jan. 27 council meeting.” However, the town’s news release on Friday referred to “appointments,” not candidates, and included only two names.
Tuesday’s meeting will include a public hearing on the appointments. Two weeks later, the council will make the appointments at its regular meeting on Jan. 27.
The interim appointees will fill the vacant seats until an election is held in November 2026. Winners of that election will serve on the council for the remaining period of Sutphin’s and Watson’s terms.
Tuesday’s meeting is the first regular town council meeting and public hearing of the year. The meeting will be held in the council chambers of Blacksburg Town Hall at 300 S. Main St. The agenda is available here.