Goode, W. Wilson (Woodrow Wilson), 1938-

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li> 11/03/1987 Philadelphia Mayor Won 51.05% (+2.62%)</li>
<li> 05/19/1987 Philadelphia Mayor - D Primary Won 56.96% (+14.56%)</li>
<li> 11/08/1983 Philadelphia Mayor Won 55.26% (+18.48%)</li>
<li> 05/17/1983 Philadelphia Mayor - D Primary Won 52.73% (+9.50%)</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p>Best known as the first African American Mayor of Philadelphia, Woodrow Wilson Goode was born in 1938 into a family of tenant farmers near the town of Seaboard, North Carolina. Goode moved to Philadelphia with his family in 1954.</p>

<p>In 1961, he received a B.A. from Morgan State University in Maryland. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated with a Master’s in Public Administration in 1971. After graduation, Goode worked as a probation officer, a supervisor of a building maintenance firm, and an insurance claim adjuster.</p>

<p>Goode’s first foray into politics came when he managed the unsuccessful mayoral campaign of State Representative Hardy Williams in 1971. In 1979 Goode was appointed to head the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and later, between 1980 and 1983, he served in Mayor William J. Green’s administration as Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia.</p>

<p>Woodrow Wilson Goode Sr. (born August 19, 1938) is a former Mayor of Philadelphia and the first African American to hold that office. He served from 1984 to 1992, a period which included the controversial MOVE police action and house bombing in 1985. Goode was also a community activist, chair of the state Public Utility Commission, and managing director for the City of Philadelphia.</p>

<p>Goode was born into a family of tenant farmers near Seaboard, North Carolina. After arriving in Philadelphia, he graduated from John Bartram High School and then he earned his degree from Morgan State University. He also graduated from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.</p>

<p>After African-American state senators complained that there had never been an African-American member of the state Public Utility Commission (PUC), Governor Milton Shapp began actively searching for one. His aide, Terry Dellmuth, knew Goode from his community and political activities and recommended him.</p>