Jean Godden

Infobox Politician
name = Jean Godden

---

imagesize = 150px
width = 100px
height = 184px
caption =
small_

office = Seattle City Council
term_start = 2003
term_end = present
predecessor = Judy Nicastro
successor = Incumbent
constituency =
majority =
office2 =
term_start2 =
term_end2 =
predecessor2 =
successor2 =
constituency2 =
majority2 =
office3 =
term_start3 =
term_end3 =
predecessor3 =
successor3 =
constituency3 =
majority3 =
birth_date = birth date and age|1931|10|01
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
party = Democratic
relations =
spouse =
civil partner =
children = Jeff and Glenn (sons)
residence = Seattle, WA
occupation = Seattle City Councilmember
religion =


website = http://www.jeangodden.com
footnotes =

Jean Godden is a member of the Seattle City Council, first elected in 2003. [Seattle PI http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/2003nov/resPage20.htm ] As of October 2006 she is 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.Seattle City Council Website http://www.seattle.gov/council/godden/]

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.fgfg]

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. [King County Election Results http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/200711/resPage17.htm]

Biography

Born in Connecticut, Godden's family moved 116 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, Joshua Godden. She resides in Seattle's View Ridge neighborhood. [http://www.jeangodden.com]

2007 Campaign

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

She has significantly outraised all of her opponents. [Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission http://www2.ci.seattle.wa.us/ethics/eldata/filings/campaignhome.asp?elcycle=el07a&campuni=82] 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.Angela Galloway, Seattle PI, [http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/122719.asp "Strange Bedfellows"] , September 28, 2007.]

In the August 21st primary, Godden advanced to the general election, beating her nearest challenger by more than 30 percentage points. [King County Election Results http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/200708/resPage8.htm]

Primary election results

Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Jean Godden (inc.)
votes = 37,658
percentage = 51.96%
change = Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Joe Szwaja
votes = 15,781
percentage = 21.78%
change = Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Lauren Briel
votes = 9,695
percentage = 13.38%
change = Election box candidate
party =
candidate = Robert Sondheim
votes = 9,058
percentage = 12.50%
change =

References