Wayne Goodwin
George Wayne Goodwin (born February 22, 1967) is an American politician. He was elected North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance in the 2008 election and re-elected in 2012.[1][2] He was narrowly defeated in his bid for a third term in 2016.[3] However, he quickly rebounded and was elected on February 11, 2017, as chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party on the first ballot with 92% of the vote among four candidates.
Wayne Goodwin | |
---|---|
Commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles | |
Assumed office January 14, 2022 | |
Governor | Roy Cooper |
Preceded by | Torre Jessup |
Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party | |
In office February 11, 2017 – February 27, 2021 | |
Governor | Roy Cooper |
Preceded by | Patsy Keever |
Succeeded by | Bobbie Richardson |
Insurance Commissioner of North Carolina | |
In office January 10, 2009 – January 1, 2017 | |
Governor | Bev Perdue Pat McCrory |
Preceded by | James Long |
Succeeded by | Mike Causey |
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives | |
In office January 1, 1997 – January 1, 2005 | |
Preceded by | Hugh Alfred Lee |
Succeeded by | Melanie Wade Goodwin (Redistricting) |
Constituency | 32nd District (1997-2003) 68th District (2003-2005) |
Personal details | |
Born | Hamlet, North Carolina | February 22, 1967
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Melanie Wade (Deceased 2020) |
Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA, JD) |
Goodwin previously served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's sixty-eighth House district, including constituents in Richmond and Stanly counties. His prior district – the 32nd House district – also included Scotland and Montgomery Counties.
Political career
State Legislator
After serving as President of the Young Democrats of North Carolina, Goodwin served four full terms in the North Carolina state House. Goodwin campaigned as the Democratic nominee for the position of North Carolina Commissioner of Labor in the 2004 election, losing in a close race to incumbent Republican Cherie Berry.
Insurance Commissioner
Goodwin served as the Assistant Commissioner of Insurance and Assistant State Fire Marshal for the State of North Carolina from 2005 through 2008. In 2008, Goodwin filed to run for Commissioner of Insurance after the surprise retirement of longtime Commissioner Jim Long.[4] Goodwin defeated David Smith in the Democratic primary 56%–43%[5] and went on to beat Republican John Odom and Libertarian Mark McMains with 51.57% of the vote.[6] He was sworn-in on January 10, 2009.[7] Goodwin won re-election in the 2012 general contest by almost four percentage points.
NC Democratic Party Chair
He was a candidate for re-election to his post in 2016.[8] After very narrowly losing the general election, Goodwin announced that he would run for chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party.[9] With the support of 92% of ballots cast, he was elected to lead the state party on Feb. 11, 2017.[10] Two years later, in January 2019, Goodwin won unanimous re-election to a second term as chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party.[11] After completing a customary second term, Goodwin chose to refrain from a third term soon after his wife died from cancer and he had two children to raise. His first vice chair, Bobbie Richardson, succeeded Goodwin as party chair.[12]
He unsuccessfully sought a third (non-consecutive) term as insurance commissioner in the 2020 election.
DMV Commissioner
In 2022, Goodwin was appointed commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles.[13] As commissioner, he lifted various restrictions for LGBT speech on vanity plates. Previously, vanity plates with LGBT content were not permitted by the Division. Under the direction of Goodwin, the DMV cracked down on racist and antisemitic vanity plates that had been approved due to creative spelling used to get around DMV restrictions.[14]
Goodwin has also made several changes as commissioner to streamline DMV service. He has implemented extended walk-in hours and extended business hours at several DMV locations, as well as expanded online services. He has also announced the introduction of DMV self-service kiosks in places such as pharmacies and grocery stores, allowing DMV customers to renew their license and registration while shopping for groceries or picking up prescriptions.[15]
Personal life
Goodwin was a Morehead Scholar and US Senate/William Randolph Hearst Scholar. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in political science and then went on to graduate from the UNC School of Law. While at UNC, he was a member of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.[16] He was married to Melanie Wade Goodwin, also a former state legislator and attorney, until her death at age 50 in 2020. They are the parents of two children.[17]
Electoral history
North Carolina House of Representatives 32nd District Election, 1996 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin | 12,104 | 100.00 |
North Carolina House of Representatives 32nd District Election, 1998 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin (inc.) | 9,633 | 100.00 |
North Carolina House of Representatives 32nd District Election, 2000 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin (inc.) | 13,417 | 100.00 |
North Carolina House of Representatives 68th District Election, 2002 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin (inc.) | 10,393 | 55.86 |
Republican | George Crump, III | 7,833 | 42.10 |
Libertarian | David Muse | 381 | 2.05 |
North Carolina Commissioner of Labor Election, 2004 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Republican | Cherie Berry (inc.) | 1,723,004 | 52.09 |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin | 1,584,488 | 47.91 |
North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Democratic Primary Election, 2008 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin | 680,512 | 56.08 |
Democratic | David Smith | 533,027 | 43.92 |
North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Election, 2008 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin | 2,106,870 | 51.57 |
Republican | John Odom | 1,822,452 | 44.61 |
Libertarian | Mark McMains | 153,517 | 3.76 |
Write-ins | Write-ins | 2,358 | 0.06 |
North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Election, 2012 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Wayne Goodwin (inc.) | 2,226,344 | 51.86 |
Republican | Mike Causey | 2,066,601 | 48.14 |
References
- "North Carolina manual [serial]". [Raleigh] : North Carolina Historical Commission. Retrieved Apr 3, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
- "WRAL: Goodwin wins NC insurance commissioner race". Retrieved Apr 3, 2019.
- "North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Results: Mike Causey Wins". Aug 1, 2017. Retrieved Apr 3, 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
- [ Long not running for re-election | newsobserver.com projects]
- NC Primary Election Results 2008, NC State Board of Elections
- NC General Election Results 2008, NC State Board of Elections
- Bonner, Lynn; Niolet, Benjamin (January 10, 2009). "Council of State also sworn in today: These four among those who will help the new governor steer the ship of state". The News & Observer.
- "Goodwin seeks third term as N.C. insurance commissioner". Richmond County Daily Journal. Oct 8, 2015. Retrieved Apr 3, 2019.
- "NC Democrats again seeking new party leader". WRAL.com. Dec 28, 2016. Retrieved Apr 3, 2019.
- "NC Democratic Party elects Wayne Goodwin as chair". WRAL.com. Feb 11, 2017. Retrieved Apr 3, 2019.
- "North Carolina Democrats Reelect Chairman Goodwin, Announce New Party Leadership". North Carolina Democratic Party. Jan 26, 2019. Retrieved Sep 2, 2020.
- WRAL.com
- Coastland Times
- WRAL (2023-01-13). "More LGBTQ phrases allowed on North Carolina vanity plates". WRAL.com. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
- "North Carolina DMV to add self-service, estimated wait time features, limited online ID renewals". wcnc.com. February 14, 2023. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- https://www.diphi.org/board/
- Robertson, Gary D. "Ex-NC Rep. Goodwin, Who Made History With Childbirth, Dies". www.wfae.org. Retrieved Sep 2, 2020.