State Representative Melanie Wade Goodwin Files for Re-election to N.C. General Assembly

February 11, 2008

State Representative Melanie Wade Goodwin Seeking 3rd Term for Richmond, Montgomery Counties

(Rockingham) – State Representative Melanie Wade Goodwin filed on opening day of the 2008 election season for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Presently in her second term, Goodwin has been a rising star within the Democratic Party’s legislative majority.

In the North Carolina General Assembly she is chairwoman of the House Election Laws and Campaign Finance Reform Committee and vice-chair of the Judiciary I Committee. Both committees are known for their consideration and passage of substantive legislative proposals. The local lawmaker also serves on the following additional committees: Appropriations; Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety; Education; Education Subcommittee on Community Colleges; and Juvenile Justice. Furthermore, House Speaker Joe Hackney has appointed her to several interim study committees. These duties require her to work part of every week in Raleigh, whether the legislature is in session or not.

“Our area of this State faces a number of significant challenges: jobs, schools, roads, water, sewer, access to affordable healthcare, and many others. I filed for re-election to a third term because this district deserves a State Representative committed to working full-time for its citizens to address these challenges. During my first two terms, this district has received significant appropriations, grants, and constituent services,” said Rep. Goodwin. “If re-elected, Richmond and Montgomery Counties will continue to benefit from my experience and legislative seniority.”
Speaker of the House Joe Hackney of Chatham County praised Rep. Goodwin’s decision to run for a third term.

“She is an excellent legislator, a legislator who brings remarkable experience to the General Assembly. Melanie is an attorney, mom, wife and career woman,” said Speaker Hackney. “We do not have a lot of youth in the legislature, but Rep. Goodwin has become a key spokesperson for young families and small businesspersons in rural North Carolina. … The House of Representatives needs members such as Goodwin who are younger and who know how to manage careers and family. ... She does it with style and gets her work done,” Hackney said.

Melanie Wade Goodwin earned her B.A. in English at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1992 and her Juris Doctor from Campbell University School of Law in 2000. She has been very active in the community as President of the Rockingham Junior Woman’s Club, a member of the Richmond County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, President of the Richmond County Democratic Women, and the Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines Council. Goodwin is also a business owner, mother, attorney, and active member of the First United Methodist Church in Rockingham.

Goodwin is married to Wayne Goodwin, her predecessor in the legislature and presently the Assistant Commissioner of Insurance for the State of North Carolina. He joined her at the Richmond County Board of Elections for Monday’s filing. They have a five-year-old daughter, Madison, and are expecting their second child in April. They live in Rockingham.

To learn more about her legislative service as it happens, Rep. Goodwin has created “Melanie’s District Diary” at www.representativemelaniewadegoodwin.blogspot.com. District 66 includes Richmond and Montgomery Counties.