Jean Godden
Encyclopedia
Jean Godden is a member of the Seattle City Council
, first elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007, Council member Godden is currently serving her second term. As of September 2010 she chairs both the Budget and the Finance and Budget Committees. She is Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee and a member of the Regional Development and Sustainability Committee. Jean is also an alternate on the Parks and Seattle Center Committee. Councilmember Godden was previously chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, vice chair of the Finance & Budget Committee and the Public Safety, Government Relations & Arts Committee, and a member of the Transportation Committee.
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.
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.
, 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 two great-granddaughters, Joshua Godden, Raevyn Godden, and Calla Godden. She resides in Seattle's View Ridge
neighborhood.
, Lauren Briel and Robert Sondheim.
She significantly out-fundraised all of her opponents. 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.
In the August 21 primary, Godden advanced to the general election, beating her nearest challenger by more than 30 percentage points.
Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is committed to ensuring that Seattle, Washington, is safe, livable and sustainable. Nine Councilmembers are elected to four-year terms in nonpartisan elections and represent the entire city, elected by all Seattle voters....
, first elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007, Council member Godden is currently serving her second term. As of September 2010 she chairs both the Budget and the Finance and Budget Committees. She is Vice Chair of the Transportation Committee and a member of the Regional Development and Sustainability Committee. Jean is also an alternate on the Parks and Seattle Center Committee. Councilmember Godden was previously chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, vice chair of the Finance & Budget Committee and the Public Safety, Government Relations & Arts Committee, and a member of the Transportation Committee.
Godden received her bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in editorial journalism from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
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
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
newspaper, which she gave up to run for City Council.
Godden won reelection to the Council in 2007. She defeated her challenger Joe Szwaja
Joe Szwaja
Joseph Brian "Joe" Szwaja is a Seattle public school teacher and political activist. Formerly a Madison, Wisconsin City Council member, he unsuccessfully ran in 2000 for a seat in the United States Congress in his current home of as a Green Party candidate...
in the November election by winning 71.21 percent of the vote.
Biography
Born in ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Godden's family moved many times before she graduated from high school in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
due to her father's job as a surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
.
After two Seattle school levies failed and her son's kindergarten class disappeared, Godden and other parents mobilized and she ended up as PTA
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
president. Godden then joined the League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
; 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
Wesley C. Uhlman
Wesley Carl Uhlman was the 47th mayor of Seattle.-Biography:He attended Aberdeen High School, Seattle Pacific College, and the University of Washington....
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
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
and most recently for The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History: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
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
's Medill School of Journalism. She would eventually graduate from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
'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 two great-granddaughters, Joshua Godden, Raevyn Godden, and Calla Godden. She resides in Seattle's View Ridge
View Ridge, Seattle, Washington
View Ridge is a neighborhood in north Seattle, Washington. As with all Seattle neighborhoods, its boundaries are not fixed, but can be thought of as NE 65th Street in the south, 40th and 45th Avenues NE in the west, the Sand Point Country Club in the north, and Sand Point Way NE in the east. Many...
neighborhood.
2007 Campaign
In the August primary, Godden faced opposition from three challengers: Joe SzwajaJoe Szwaja
Joseph Brian "Joe" Szwaja is a Seattle public school teacher and political activist. Formerly a Madison, Wisconsin City Council member, he unsuccessfully ran in 2000 for a seat in the United States Congress in his current home of as a Green Party candidate...
, Lauren Briel and Robert Sondheim.
She significantly out-fundraised all of her opponents. 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.
In the August 21 primary, Godden advanced to the general election, beating her nearest challenger by more than 30 percentage points.