Terry Goodger

by Eric Tiongson

White County News

Terry Goodger first ran for the White County Board of Commissioners back in 2010. 14 years and 3 terms later, he wants to do it again.

“My passion for this is one of the things that drove me to seek re-election,” Goodger said.

Goodger is running to represent District 1 on the board. He believes that his experience on the job makes him the ideal candidate to continue serving the county.

“I have enjoyed being a county commissioner,” Goodger said. “I probably have been involved in some type of politics almost my whole life, and I really have enjoyed doing this.”

He also believes that he will bring an objective mindset towards the county’s government. While Goodger has lived in White County for roughly 31 years, he also lived in Louisiana for an extended period of time. He says that he doesn’t own any land or businesses in White County, only his home.

“I don’t have any financial areas that cloud my opinions or judgments on what I do,” Goodger said. “I just try to do what the law says and what’s right and just for each individual.”

On the top of Goodger’s to-do list should he be elected is to complete the building of a new public library in White County, something he’s had his eye on for a while.

“It’s a dream I’ve been looking at for at least 10 years,” Goodger said. He added, “over this period of time there’s been a lot of other projects that have taken priority, so finally the time has come.”

Another goal that Goodger hopes to achieve is building Fire Station No. 9, located off of Duncan Bridge Road. He says the new station will save some citizens a lot of money on insurance due to lowering the ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating from 10 to 4. This is because the new station will be a lot closer to residents that currently are not near a fire station.

One of Goodger’s proudest achievements from his previous terms include helping build Freedom Park in downtown Cleveland, which was completed in 2014. He is proud of how he was able to help get the job done despite some complications throughout the project.

“It took a while to get it done,” Goodger said. “But it’s just been unbelievable how much Freedom Park has been used since we got it done.”

When Goodger isn’t working, he enjoys brushing up on history. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and enjoys telling stories of his time in service. He’s also an avid genealogist.