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Familiar faces vie for Washington Town Council seat

by | Jan 20, 2026

Town Council candidates John Fox Sullivan and Wendy Murdoch (end of second row) at Monday’s Town Council meeting. (Photo/Luke Christopher)

Planning Commission seat opens, chair stepping down

After months of shifting roles within the Town of Washington’s government, officials are now looking to fill the last remaining vacancy on the Town Council.

The Washington Town Council announced its two candidates at Monday’s meeting: former Mayor John Fox Sullivan and town resident Wendy Murdoch.

The vacancy opened up after some rearrangements in the town’s governing bodies. In October, Deborah Harris left her role as chair of the Architectural Review Board (ARB) to take a seat as treasurer on the council. In December, Vice Mayor Fred Catlin was appointed to fill Harris’ former ARB position, leaving his seat vacant on the council.

Wendy Murdoch, longtime town resident and businesswoman whose husband, Brad Schneider, serves on the council but was not present Monday, said she is very familiar with operations and thinks the town government could use her skillset.

“I run five different businesses, and none of them are hospitality, so I’m very familiar with operations and managing operations,” Murdoch said Monday. “I feel like the town could use someone that’s more familiar with operations than hospitality at this point in terms of the management of the wastewater treatment plant and a lot of the infrastructure systems.”

Mayor Emeritus John Fox Sullivan said he would bring a long history and knowledge of the town, with over 10 years of previous service on the council and ARB. He said he wants to stress engagement and new ideas, and if elected to the council would work to attract more participation in town government by residents, operating with a “collegial style.”

“I like to involve people … I think that there’s not enough of that sort of thing going on within the county, or so much with the town, and vice versa,” Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of fresh blood in this town … a simple goal would be to see more and more people show up for meetings such as this, and be involved in this town, and to the extent that I can help make that happen, I would consider that actually a major accomplishment.”

The council will meet again on Jan. 21 to decide between the candidates.

Planning commission changes

There are also changes in leadership coming to the town’s Planning Commission. Chair Caroline Anstey announced Monday that she is stepping down from her position, effective after the commission’s March meeting. Anstey has served on the commission since 2018.

“I will gavel my last gavel on the 26th and then step down,” Anstey told the council.

Monday, town resident Maria Darie was elected unanimously by the council to fill another open spot on the commission previously filled by Jeanne Kauffmann. Darie, who lives on Harris Hollow Road, is chief financial officer of AVID Center, a national education nonprofit.

Letters of interest are now being accepted for the second opening, and should be sent to Town Administrator Barbara Batson by Feb. 2. The council will review them and make a decision at its February meeting.

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner.
    Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.
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By Ireland Hayes

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Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.