Jean Godden

Jean Godden (born October 10, 1931) is a member of the Seattle City Council, first elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007 and 2011. Council member Godden is currently serving her third term.^[1] As of January 2013 she chairs the Libraries, Utilities, and Center Committee and the Special Committee on Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Project and Central Waterfront Planning. She is Vice Chair of the Parks and Neighborhood Committee and is a member of the Transportation Committee. Jean is also an alternate on the Parks and Seattle Center Committee.^[2]

Godden received her bachelor's degree in editorial journalism from the University of Washington in 1973 and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Her local fame is due to her award-winning column in The Seattle Times newspaper, which she gave up to run for City Council.^[2]

Godden won reelection to the Council in 2007. She defeated her challenger Joe Szwaja in the November election by winning 71.21 percent of the vote.^[3]

Biography

Born in Connecticut, Godden's family moved many times before she graduated from high school in Virginia due to her father's job as a surveyor.

After two Seattle school levies failed and her son's kindergarten class disappeared, Godden and other parents mobilized and she ended up as PTA president. Godden then joined the League of Women Voters; Citizens Against Freeways; the Municipal League; and the United Way, where she helped to organize the Lake City Community Council, wrote its bylaws and served as one of its first directors.

In the late 1960s Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman appointed Godden to his charter review committee. She was also named to the City's Board of Adjustment.

Godden attained celebrity status in Seattle as a columnist for both daily newspapers, first for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and most recently for The Seattle Times. Godden reached that status after years working in other positions with the paper, including as a business editor, editorial page editor, real estate and urban affairs reporter and restaurant critic. Godden was one of the P-I's early female staff members and one of two women in her class at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She would eventually graduate from the University of Washington's School of Communications. She started her newspaper career at the University District Herald as a 19-year-old, joined the P-I in 1974 as a temporary staffer, had her first column published in the P-I in 1983, and finally switched to The Seattle Times in 1991.

Godden has two sons, Glenn and Jeff, and two grandsons, Chris Godden and Matthew Godden and one great-grandson and three great-granddaughters, Joshua Godden, Raevyn Godden, Calla Godden, and Sloane Godden. She resides in Seattle's View Ridge neighborhood.^[4]

2007 Campaign

In the August primary, Godden faced opposition from three challengers: Joe Szwaja, Lauren Briel and Robert Sondheim.

She significantly out-fundraised all of her opponents.^[5] According to Seattle Ethics and Elections reports, Godden had raised $189,189 as of August 27. Her closest challenger, Szwaja, had raised just over $56,000; as of September 28, 2007, Godden had generated $200,375 in campaign funding.^[6]

In the August 21 primary, Godden advanced to the general election, beating her nearest challenger by more than 30 percentage points.^[7]

Primary election results

2011 Election

Godden was opposed for re-election to the council by Bobby Forch, a city transportation manager. The campaign was competitive, and fellow council member Mike O'Brien even endorsed Forch over Godden. Some speculated that age may have factored into the election as well, with Godden being 80 at the time. However Godden was re-elected to a third term on the council, capturing 54% of the vote. ^[8]

References

1. ↑ Seattle PI http://web.archive.org/web/20031107033943/http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/2003nov/respage20.htm
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Seattle City Council Website http://www.seattle.gov/council/godden/
3. ↑ King County Election Results http://web.archive.org/web/20071110070459/http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/200711/resPage17.htm
4. ↑ http://www.jeangodden.com
5. ↑ Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission http://www2.ci.seattle.wa.us/ethics/eldata/filings/campaignhome.asp?elcycle=el07a&campuni=82
6. ↑ Angela Galloway, Seattle PI, "Strange Bedfellows", September 28, 2007.
7. ↑ King County Election Results http://web.archive.org/web/20080724015815/http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/200708/resPage8.htm
8. ↑ "Jean Godden winning in early count", November 8, 2011.