Amy Shuler Goodwin (born March 9, 1971) is an American journalist and politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. She is the first female

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, serving since January 2019.

Early life and career

Goodwin is a native of

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

. Her father, Floyd Shuler, is a business owner, and her mother, Pat Shuler, is a teacher. Her grandmother,

Thais Blatnik Thais F. O'Donnell Shuler Blatnik (November 20, 1919 – December 9, 2015) was an American journalist and politician who served in both chambers of the West Virginia Legislature. Early life and education Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Bl ...

, served in the

West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in the ...

. Goodwin graduated from

Wheeling Park High School Wheeling Park High School is a public high school in Wheeling, West Virginia, United States. It is the only public high school in the Ohio County School District. Athletic teams compete as the Wheeling Park Patriots in the WVSSAC Class AAA, as we ...

and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in journalism from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

in 1994. She worked for

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

as a researcher, before working as a reporter and anchor for

WCHS-TV WCHS-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Charleston, West Virginia, United States, serving the Charleston– Huntington market as an affiliate of ABC and Fox. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain servi ...

in Charleston and

WTRF-TV WTRF-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Wheeling, West Virginia, United States, serving the Wheeling, West Virginia–Steubenville, Ohio market as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and ABC. The station is owned by Nexstar Me ...

in Wheeling.

Political career

Goodwin served as communications director for Kemp Melton, the

of Charleston, in the 1990s, and as state communications director for

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

's 2004 presidential campaign. She also served as communications director for

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

Bob Wise Robert Ellsworth Wise Jr. (born January 6, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, Wise also served in the United States House of Representatives from ...

and

Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as pres ...

. In 2014, Tomblin appointed her as commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Tourism and deputy secretary of commerce. She served in the role until January 2017, when Governor

Jim Justice James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017. Justice had a net worth of $1.2 billion in September 2018, making him the wealthiest person ...

selected Chelsea Ruby for the position. In February 2017, Goodwin declared her intention to run for mayor of Charleston in the 2018 election, seeking to succeed

Danny Jones Daniel Alan David Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2005'' (born 12 March 1986) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly. Jones ...

, who opted not to run for reelection. She defeated Republican J. B. Akers and independent Andy Backus in the November 2018 general election, and won with almost 51% of the vote. She was sworn into office on January 7, 2019, becoming the first female mayor of Charleston.

Personal life

Goodwin is married to

Booth Goodwin Robert Booth Goodwin II (born 1971), known commonly as Booth Goodwin, is an American attorney with Goodwin & Goodwin LLP in Charleston, West Virginia. He served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 2010 un ...

, a former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

and 2016 Democratic candidate for Governor. They have two sons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Amy Shuler 1970s births Goodwin family Living people Mayors of Charleston, West Virginia Politicians from Wheeling, West Virginia West Virginia Democrats West Virginia University alumni Women mayors of places in West Virginia Journalists from West Virginia