CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Booth Goodwin is seeking a different office from the one he’s held for five years on West Virginia’s May 10 primary day, but his credo of public service remains the same.
The former U.S. Attorney and Democrat gubernatorial candidate says he was inspired by his parents, particularly his father Joseph Robert Goodwin, who ran for the state Senate in 1980. His father is now a U.S. district judge, and his mother, Kay Goodwin is the State Secretary of Education and the Arts.
“I was nine-years-old, and I always saw the dedication that he had and my mom had to public service,” Goodwin said. “That’s what I enjoy. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past 15 years as a federal prosecutor, and that’s what I want to continue to do as governor.”
Goodwin, who was a leading prosecutor in the trial of Don Blankenship, said he didn’t finally decide he wanted to run for governor until after the trial was over in December.
He filed his pre-candidacy papers on New Year’s Day, the last to join the race for governor. Goodwin and his wife Amy Shuler Goodwin have two young sons, which is why he said he wants to take an active role in ensuring a better future for them.
“Why would you leave as U.S. Attorney and basically jump out of the frying pan and into the fire and run for governor? And I say two reasons, and their names are Joe and Sam,” he said referring to his two boys. “I want them to have the same sort of opportunity my wife Amy and I had to live, grow and raise their families here in West Virginia.”
Katy Blizzard-Toler met the future Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin at WVU and befriended both of them. She said that, even then, she saw a potential for a political future for Booth.
“I guess that I always thought that in the back of my mind that he would be on that stage. I always hoped that he would (run for governor),” she said. “He’s a true public servant; he wants to help West Virginia. He wants to think outside the box; he wants to make West Virginia as wonderful as it can be.”
Goodwin said that he has a passion for music that was born at WVU, joining the marching band his first year and playing in a rock band called “Skinny White Boys.” To this day, he said he enjoys drumming, and did so in a recently released campaign commercial.
One aspect of education that Goodwin wanted to see changed due to his passion for music is to see the arts encouraged further in state schools.
“It’s really quite frustrating what I see in education that we are not really tapping into the creative juices of our students,” Goodwin said. “We talk a lot about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) but we fail to include the arts right there in the middle.”
Careena Rouse, an English teacher at Scott High School in Madison, described herself as undecided in the upcoming primary, but agreed that even struggling school systems like that of Boone County should leave some room in their budgets for arts funding.
“I have seen the change in students who have an outlet and a joy,” Rouse said at an event Goodwin held Wednesday in Danville for teachers. “Every student who is a valedictorian, every student that is in an upper level class, has that intrinsic in their soul–love for music and the arts.”
Goodwin described himself as a problem solver, and believed that his experience as a federal prosecutor makes him uniquely qualified to tackle problems such as the Mountain State’s drug epidemic. In fact, he said holding the governor’s office would allow him to expand his role in solving addiction.
“The frustration is that you can take as many drug dealers off the street as you want, but if that demand is still there, you’re going to see more and more drug dealers fill in,” he said. “It’s not to say that we shouldn’t be continuing to take drug dealers off the street. We absolutely should. But we’ve got to address both sides of the equation. I think I can do that.”
Executive Director of the WV Sheriffs Association Rodney Miller said the organization has endorsed Goodwin because he’s respected in law enforcement. He agreed that solving the drug crisis requires a multi-faceted approach.
“There’s not one avenue that’s going to fix the opiate addiction problem,” he said. “It’s got to come from different areas; from the executive, the legislative, as well as the judicial. We can’t arrest our way out of it.”
With the primary now less than three weeks away, how does Goodwin feel?
“I feel great. I mean, the momentum has been phenomenal. We have really maintained momentum from the time I entered the race until today,” he said. “What I want to do over the next two weeks is to continue to get out like I have to meet more and more people in West Virginia. Try to get from them the issues that they face.”
Goodwin made several stops in Boone County Wednesday, including a meeting with the areas teachers at the Park Avenue Restaurant in Danville.
This article is the second installment in a series on the gubernatorial candidates ahead of the West Virginia Primary Election on May 10. Early voting began Wednesday.