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Wendy Gooditis

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Wendy Gooditis
Image of Wendy Gooditis
Prior offices
Virginia House of Delegates District 10
Successor: Dan Helmer

Education

Bachelor's

Rutgers University

Graduate

Shenandoah University

Personal
Religion
Quaker
Profession
Realtor/educator
Contact

Wendy Gooditis (Democratic Party) was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 10. She assumed office in 2018. She left office on January 10, 2024.

Gooditis (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 10. She won in the general election on November 2, 2021.


Biography

Gooditis is from Cranbury, New Jersey. She received her bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and her M.Ed. from Shenandoah University. Her professional experience includes working as a realtor and working in education.[1] Gooditis has been affiliated with Goose Creek Friends Meeting.[2]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Gooditis was assigned to the following committees:

2020-2021

Gooditis was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Gooditis was assigned to the following committees:


The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2023

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2023

Wendy Gooditis did not file to run for re-election.

2021

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2021

General election

General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 10

Incumbent Wendy Gooditis defeated Nick Clemente in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 10 on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Wendy Gooditis
Wendy Gooditis (D)
 
50.9
 
21,229
Image of Nick Clemente
Nick Clemente (R) Candidate Connection
 
48.9
 
20,408
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
57

Total votes: 41,694
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Wendy Gooditis advanced from the Democratic primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 10.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Nick Clemente advanced from the Republican primary for Virginia House of Delegates District 10.

Campaign finance

2019

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2019

General election

General election for Virginia House of Delegates District 10

Incumbent Wendy Gooditis defeated Randall Minchew in the general election for Virginia House of Delegates District 10 on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Wendy Gooditis
Wendy Gooditis (D) Candidate Connection
 
52.3
 
15,928
Image of Randall Minchew
Randall Minchew (R)
 
47.6
 
14,500
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
19

Total votes: 30,447
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To see a list of endorsements for Wendy Gooditis, click here.


2017

See also: Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2017

General election

Elections for the Virginia House of Delegates took place in 2017. All 100 house seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for primary election candidates was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for non-party candidates and candidates nominated by methods other than a primary was June 13, 2017.[3] Wendy Gooditis (D) defeated incumbent Randall Minchew (R) in the Virginia House of Delegates District 10 general election.[4]

Virginia House of Delegates, District 10 General Election, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Wendy Gooditis 51.95% 15,161
     Republican Randall Minchew Incumbent 48.05% 14,025
Total Votes 29,186
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Democratic primary election

Wendy Gooditis ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 10 Democratic primary.[5]

Ballotpedia will publish vote totals here after they become available.
Virginia House of Delegates, District 10 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate
Green check mark transparent.png Wendy Gooditis

Republican primary election

Incumbent Randall Minchew ran unopposed in the Virginia House of Delegates District 10 Republican primary.[6]

Ballotpedia will publish vote totals here after they become available.
Virginia House of Delegates, District 10 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate
Green check mark transparent.png Randall Minchew Incumbent

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Wendy Gooditis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Candidate Connection

Wendy Gooditis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gooditis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I was raised to work hard and serve others. I grew up in Cranbury, New Jersey with two older brothers. My father spent his childhood in rural Alabama during the Great Depression, where his family scraped and saved to buy milk for him as an infant. As an adult he rode in a commuter van over two hours each day to work, but still found time to teach me how to play the piano and work hard for what I believe in.

My mother and grandmother were public school teachers. In the 1930s, my grandmother pushed social limits to earn her graduate degree, and my mother followed suit. From them, I learned early the importance of education, perseverance, and working women.

In college, I applied my equestrian background to service. I worked as a student mounted marshal for the Rutgers Police, logging 30 hours a week with a full course load. After graduation, following in my family's tradition of strong, working women, I went on to lead a team of mid-career men at Bell Laboratories when I was 26 years old.

After I met Chris, my husband of 25 years, I made the move to Virginia. Following the birth of my children in the mid-1990s, I became enamored with education. I received my Masters in Education from Shenandoah University. During my career in education I taught in the Clarke County public school system, at an area private school, and partially homeschooled my children. As my kids entered college, I knew that I would need to help pay the tuition bills. I joined RE/MAX as a realtor in 2013, and have been there since.
  • I will continue my efforts to expand affordable health care for every Virginian
  • I will vote for more public school funding to give our children the future they deserve
  • I will support infrastructure investments that curb traffic and cut commutes
I am passionate about health care, education, transportation, and the environment.
Members of the House of Delegates must care for their constituents before anything else. My job is to make sure everyone in my district has healthcare, housing, transportation, and a good education. As Delegate, my allegiance is to my constituents, not corporations or other campaign donors.
Shortly after announcing my candidacy for office in 2017, I lost my brother Brian to alcoholism and PTSD, conditions he struggled with for years after being sexually abused as a child. As his primary caretaker during the last years of his life, I navigated our healthcare systems to secure the case he needed. This taught me a huge amount about what people go through every single day in our community just to get the care they need.
I believe over the next decade our Commonwealth will need to maintain and increase its investments in healthcare and public education in both good times and bad. While in power, Republicans have avoided spending on these critical services even in strong economic conditions. After members of my party won 15 seats in the House of Delegates in 2017, the House expanded Medicaid to cover nearly 400,000 more individuals with health insurance and passed the largest teacher raises in a decade. In my view, we need to find more revenue streams for these critical investments so that Virginia's students and medical patients can rely on the services they need going forward. I worry that should Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the 2019 elections, we may be faced with cuts to healthcare and education in Virginia.
I chose to sit on the Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources Committee (ACNR) because I care deeply about environmental protection and the future of our Commonwealth's natural resources. In the 10th House District, we are blessed with the open spaces still abundant in western Loudoun County as well as Clarke and Frederick Counties. These green spaces increase our quality of life and bring revenues in the form of agritourism. As a member of ACNR, I have voted to improve Virginia's stormwater management plans, its Chesapeake Bay water quality initiatives, and the sustainable practices of its farmers.
I am constantly inspired by the men and women who populate the 10th House of Delegates district. One constituent courageously came forward after her children were abused by a family friend to seek justice for other children throughout the Commonwealth. After sharing her story, this constituent advocated for changes to state law that would protect children like her own from becoming victims of abuse. I am impressed with her courage and her willingness to turn her family's pain into meaningful change for others.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2017

Gooditis' campaign website highlighted the following issues:[7]

Education:
As a career educator and mom of two, Wendy understands that our communities are only as strong as our schools are. She will fight to fully fund our public schools so that each child in Virginia can learn and succeed.
The wage for Virginia public school teachers is about $7,000 under the national average. As both Wendy’s mom and grandmother were public school teachers, she understands firsthand the impact of underpaid educators. She knows that investing in Virginia's families means investing in Virginia's teachers. So she will support a living wage and benefits for public educators, so that Virginia can recruit and retain the nation’s top talent.

Healthcare:
Wendy believes that quality healthcare should be accessible and affordable for everyone. She knows how critical state support can be – Wendy and her family have healthcare due to the Affordable Care Act.
Wendy will support the expansion of Medicaid, so that an estimated 400,000 Virginians don’t have to keep making the impossible choices between paying healthcare bills and other necessities. Wendy understands that universal healthcare is good for Virginia’s economy – through a healthy workforce and the creation of new jobs.
About a week into her candidacy, Wendy lost her younger brother to mental illness. She's running so that Virginia families don't have to experience what hers did -- so that those who need mental health help are able to get it.

Jobs and Economic Development:
Wendy believes that our economy should work for everyone, and give each Virginian a fair shot. That means competitive public and technical education systems, a living minimum wage, and jobs for our veterans. It also means the protection of worker's rights, labor unions, and equal economic opportunity for all Virginians. It means our government's investment in public infrastructure so that we can can build better roads, bike lanes, and transit systems. Virginia's economy is developing quickly, and our government must take steps to ensure that our workforce is well trained and paid so that we can grow and compete.

Redistricting and Voting Rights:
Gerrymandering is the issue that first got Wendy out of her chair at a town hall back in February 2017. As a 19-year resident of the district, she has watched its lines be contorted and redrawn.
Wendy believes that free and fair elections are tenets of our democracy, so she stands firmly against gerrymandering. She has pledged to support a constitutional amendment in Virginia to ensure that district lines are not drawn to favor any individual or political party. Further, she firmly opposes any effort to make voting harder -- and is appalled by Virginia House Republican efforts to require photo identification for absentee ballots and multiple forms of state identifications at the voting booth.

Environment:
Wendy believes that strong communities start with a healthy planet. Raising her children on the banks of the Shenandoah River, Wendy chose to live in District 10 because of its ample green spaces, clean water, and clear air. This year, she's running to protect them.
She will defend and expand existing environmental regulations. To ensure that she can legislate without bias, Wendy has also pledged not to take campaign contributions from Dominion Power or Appalachian Power.
Wendy will support Virginia's investment in renewable energy, making alternative energy options like solar panels and wind energy more accessible and affordable. Finally, she will push for cleanup efforts and the preservation of District 10's best green spaces. She believes that development must be responsible, and cannot come at the cost of our land, water, and air.

[8]

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Virginia

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Virginia scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

In 2024, the Virginia State Legislature was in session from January 10 to March 9. Special sessions occurred May 13, 2024; June 18 to July 1; and July 18, 2024.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes "on a variety of bills impacting equity, safety, access, and overall well being for LGBTQ+ Virginians."
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental and conservation issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the Second Amendment.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the manufacturing sector.


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018




Endorsements

2017

In 2017, Gooditis’ endorsements included the following:

  • NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia[9]
  • Emily's List[10]

See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Virginia House of Delegates District 10
2018-2024
Succeeded by
Dan Helmer (D)


Current members of the Virginia House of Delegates
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Don Scott
Majority Leader:Charniele Herring
Minority Leader:Terry Kilgore
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
Jas Singh (D)
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
Tony Wilt (R)
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
District 50
District 51
Eric Zehr (R)
District 52
District 53
District 54
District 55
District 56
District 57
District 58
District 59
District 60
District 61
District 62
District 63
District 64
District 65
District 66
District 67
District 68
District 69
District 70
District 71
District 72
Lee Ware (R)
District 73
District 74
District 75
District 76
District 77
District 78
District 79
District 80
District 81
District 82
District 83
District 84
District 85
District 86
District 87
District 88
Don Scott (D)
District 89
District 90
District 91
District 92
District 93
District 94
District 95
District 96
District 97
District 98
District 99
District 100
Democratic Party (51)
Republican Party (49)