Jencunas: A Tribute to Professor Jay Goodman

Monday, May 04, 2015

Brian Jencunas, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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Professor Jay Goodmand, courtesy of Wheaton College

Professor Jay Goodman had a story for every occasion. They were sometimes sad, sometimes happy, often long, always informative, and never boring. His stories were drawn from a fifty year career as a professor of political science at Wheaton College and talented political operative. Goodman, who died yesterday at 75, was a friend and adviser to governors, mayors, senators, businesspeople, and the thousands of students like me who were blessed enough to learn from him. 

I met Professor Goodman on accepted students’ day at Wheaton College. I was already addicted to politics, and attended a sample class he gave focusing on the upcoming midterm elections. It was fascinating, filled with the perfect combination of rigorous polling analysis and stories that made that data meaningful. Afterward, we had a spirited argument about what the lasting impact of the then-new Tea Party movement would be. 

After that, I knew I wanted to go to Wheaton so I could hear more of these wonderful lectures. In my four years at Wheaton College, I spent countless hours with Professor Jay Goodman; first in his classes, then over Wednesday dinners at the dining hall before his night classes, and then later on trips to give speeches to alumni groups. In those hours, I learned how to read a poll, write an attack ad, and analyze a budget. Most importantly, I learned that while politics is often about patronage and power, it is also about real issues that effect real people. 

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With his white, Einstein-esque hair, a wardrobe of tasteful yet rumbled sportcoats and sweaters, and a perpetually cluttered desk, Goodman looked every inch the absent minded professor. Yet he was no ivory tower intellectual, cloistered away from the realities of the world he studies. Goodman lived his field of study, and was one of the few political science professors to win elections rather than just write about them. 

Senators Claiborne Pell, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edmund Muskie; Governors Frank Licht and Joe Garrahy; Providence Mayors Joe Paolino and Buddy Cianci; and Lieutenant Governor Richard Licht were just some of the politicians who benefitted from Goodman’s exhaustive knowledge of public policy and campaign strategy. The politicians he supported came from different backgrounds and ideologies, but Goodman required they all share his most important virtues – compassion and a sense of fairness. The stories he was the happiest about were ones where deserving underdogs triumphed, and he backed candidates who would help make those stories more common. 

This compassion, combined with a belief in government’s ability and duty to help people, made Goodman a Democrat. But though he was a proud liberal, he had a conservative’s sense of human and systemic fallibility. He knew that rhetoric and slick advertising could fool voters into backing bad candidates and policies, but he also knew that rhetoric used correctly could inspire free people to freely choose good leaders. 

Goodman knew that politics was filled with perverse incentives that encouraged politicians to make bad but popular decisions. But he also knew that some leaders could make the right decision despite the consequences – a favorite example was Frank Licht raising taxes instead of using budgetary gimmicks to cover up the deficit until he left office. Licht’s decision was so unpopular he decided not to run for reelection, but the state was immeasurably better off because of his courage and integrity. 

In short, Goodman was one of the rare realistic idealists. That mentality helped him succeed in his two favorite political appointments – leading the RI Emergency Management Agency for Governor Garrahy and serving as chairman of the Providence Civic Center for eight years. During his time at RIEMA, the state’s effective response to the Blizzard of ‘78 became a national model for emergency management. His eight year chairmanship of the civic center saw an end to wasteful spending (he loves the story of how disappointed journalists were when he replaced the extravagant dinners during nighttime committee meetings with take-out sandwiches) and the expansion of the Civic Center to become the nation’s 7th largest rock and roll venue. 

For all kindness, Goodman was unflinching in his criticism of those he disliked. Anyone who spoke with him during the 2012 election knew the scorn he had for Mitt Romney, who Goodman regarded as a heartless businessman who thought those with less money were lesser people. This criticism was often iconoclastic – he was probably the only liberal arts college professor who regarded Elizabeth Warren as, to use his words, “an affirmative action fraud.” This honesty was always refreshing. Even when I didn’t agree with him, the conservations always made me rethink my opinions.

Honesty was one of the many virtues that Professor Goodman made vivid to anyone lucky enough to know him. Through his mentoring of students and advising of politicians, he helped his virtues of honesty, compassion, integrity, and fairness become more common in the world. Because of that, Goodman will live on long after his death, in the successes of all those who he helped to achieve their goals.

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Brian Jencunas works as a communications and media consultant. He can be reached at [email protected] and always appreciates reader feedback.

 

Video wall courtesy of Wheaton College

 

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