General Counsel for Governor Joe Manchin
by Jennifer Nugent
Every day, a select few converge under the gold-plated dome of the West Virginia State Capitol, an easily recognizable icon of “Montani Semper Liberi,” the state’s motto, that can be seen from miles around and a place where the commitment to public service is upheld with the highest form of resolve. For a small-town boy who spent his teenage years baling hay on neighboring farms in Jackson County, the privilege of reporting for work at the state capitol every day is not lost on Carte Goodwin, general counsel for Governor Joe Manchin. “It is an honor and privilege to not only work for Governor Manchin but to come in and perform some kind of public service in the time I’m going to be here,” Goodwin says.
Growing up in Mt. Alto, a small, tight-knit community in Jackson County, Goodwin says his first career choice as a teenager was probably to be a point guard for the West Virginia University Mountaineers. Of his favorite childhood memory, he says, “I distinctly remember watching our beloved Mountaineers knock off the number-one ranked University of Nevada, Las Vegas back in ’83. That’s when I was becoming an enormous basketball junkie, and I remember that it was so fun to watch that happen.” Goodwin, though, always pictured himself practicing law, a career choice not uncommon in his family.
“I have a bunch of lawyers in my family because none of us were smart enough to get into med school,” he jokes, adding that his family of professionals provided him with a multitude of good examples to draw from in his career. “There were a lot of great examples (in my family) of what a lawyer should be and what the practice of law means. I think, particularly in a small town (like Mt. Alto), (the career) carries with it a lot of responsibility. My dad was a counselor and a friend to our neighbors, and that’s part of the job description. I certainly admired that about him and hope that I’ve carried that into my professional career.”
Goodwin claims his greatest professional success as that which he lives every day—the honor and privilege of serving Governor Joe Manchin. Goodwin has served as Governor Manchin’s general counsel since January 2005, when Manchin took office. As the Governor’s lawyer, Goodwin says that he stays motivated by trying to keep up with Manchin. As general counsel, Goodwin’s daily duties include drafting legislation, monitoring litigation cases the Governor or his administration are involved in, working on various policy matters and reviewing candidates for any judicial vacancies that may exist. “It’s all very fluid and depends on the Governor’s schedule. When you serve at the will and pleasure of the guy who won a statewide election, you have to be pretty flexible.”
At home with his wife Rochelle and his three-year-old, Wes, Goodwin enjoys watching Mountaineer sports and wrestling with his son. What many might not know about this lawyer is that he is a huge music of fan of varying tastes, from Flatt and Scruggs to Miles Davis and the Allman Brothers.
Of choosing to stay in West Virginia to build a career and raise a family, Goodwin says, “I can’t think of a better place to live and work. It’s home, which has a powerful draw, but also I think there’s so much promise here and West Virginia’s best days are certainly in front of her.”
Goodwin chose a signed copy of the 2005 mine safety bill for the favorite thing he was photographed with. “It’s a bill that we passed in one day in response to the mining tragedies at Sago and Aracoma,” he explains. “The Governor told me to get to work over the course of a weekend on drafting a mine safety bill. It made for a long weekend, but we got it done and it passed the legislature in a single day the following Monday. He took it to Washington, D.C. and delivered it to our delegation and the President the next day. I’m very honored by my involvement in it.”
