Goodman to run as write-in
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on September 22, 2015 1:46 PM
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William Goodman
District 3 Councilman William Goodman announced publicly Monday night that he will be running for re-election to his seat on the Goldsboro City Council as a write-in candidate.
Voters will be able to write in Goodman as a candidate during the Goldsboro municipal election on Nov. 3, but will not be able to do so during the Oct. 6 primary election.
He will be running against candidates Mark Stevens and Van Arthur Anderson in November. Stevens and Anderson will be the only two names officially listed on the ballot.
The announcement came at the end of Goodman's council member report at Monday night's city council meeting. Goodman, 65, said the reason he had not officially filed during the filing period in July was because he was hospitalized for a knee replacement surgery at the time.
"When my knee started giving away on me, I thought about would I be able to run again," Goodman said. "It just so happened that my surgeon scheduled me in the hospital the same time as the filing period, so I didn't have a chance to file, and I said, 'Well, I'll just leave (running for re-election) alone.'"
But after an outpouring of public support encouraging him to run for re-election, Goodman said, he decided to run despite missing the filing period and having knee troubles.
"I had so many people calling me, coming by the house, stopping me in the store, everything," Goodman said. "So I told them I would make my mind up about running by tonight. With help from my family, I figured I'd just give it a try."
Goodman has served intermittently on the city council for a total of 26 years, and says his experience with knowing the ins and outs of local government makes him a good candidate for re-election.
He also has concerns with how the city is spending its money, poverty in his district, the crime rate in Goldsboro and how many facilities and programs his district has compared to other districts.
"I'm concerned about the spending spree that they're in right now," Goodman said. "I hate to look at borrowing money. I think we need to build a bigger purse and save some funds so that if something were to occur, we would have some funds to use to help us. If we were to have a hurricane right now, we wouldn't even have the money to clean it up. We've already spent it on Streetscape and (the construction of the new) W.A. Foster (Recreation Center at 237 House St.)."
Goodman said he felt like "everything has been taken away" from his district, and would like to remain on the council to right that wrong.
"The thing that really kept our district together, and was a meeting point, was W.A. Foster, from children right on up to adults," Goodman said. "The children would walk to W.A. Foster, and they're not going to be able to walk over to Mina Weil Park, so what are they going to do?"
Goodman will be required to file campaign finance documents with the Wayne County Board of Elections, and has 10 days to do so from the time of his announcement Monday night.
"He is absolutely free to do that (announce a run as a write-in candidate)," Board of Elections director Dane Beavers said. "When he makes it public like he did, he will be required to file campaign finance documents like every other candidate running."
Beavers said the paperwork that needs to be filed includes documents declaring Goodman's campaign, appointing a treasurer of his campaign funds and paperwork keeping track of what he spends on his campaign.
One-stop early voting for the Oct. 6 Goldsboro municipal primary starts this Thursday, Sept. 24, and continues through Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Wayne County Board of Elections office, 209 S. William St.
The days and hours are: Thursday, Sept. 24, Friday, Sept. 25 and Monday, Sept. 28 through Friday, Oct. 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Absentee voting by mail began on Sept. 6 and ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5.
Requests for an absentee ballot must be made in writing and received in the Wayne County Board of Elections office by 5 p.m. Sept. 29.
There are only two races on the primary ballot.
There are four candidates in the mayor's race and three in the District 4 City Council race.
Voters will select their top two choices in each race and the winners will face off in the Nov. 3 municipal election.
Candidates in the mayor's race are Chuck Allen -- who currently represents District 5 and serves as mayor pro-tem -- Henry Jinnette, D.A. Stuart and Myelle Thompson.
Candidates running in the District 4 council race are incumbent Charles Williams, Tondalayo Clark and Bevan J. Foster.