Seattle reporter, editor, columnist, and city council member Jean Godden witnessed historic events, watched Seattle evolve into a civic and national affairs leader, met city and state movers and shakers, and became a local celebrity herself. In Citizen Jean, the consummate observer recounts--as only she can--the World’s Fair that got Seattle noticed, the citizen-led battle against freeways, the fight to keep Pike Place Market away from New York investors, the World Trade Organization protests, and more. She shares personal insights, delivers an insider’s view of the city’s newspaper strikes and rivalry, and casts a revealing look at regional politicians.

Jean Godden lived in more than 100 cities and towns before she moved to Seattle. It was simply “the most spectacular place” she had ever seen. There, she married, finished her schooling, raised her children, and spent two decades as a reporter, editor, and columnist with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Seattle Times. It also was where she served as an activist and city councilmember, working toward reducing the country’s largest gender wage gap and championing paid parental leave.

Godden witnessed historic events, watched Seattle evolve into a civic and national affairs leader, met city and state movers and shakers, and became a local celebrity herself. In Citizen Jean, the consummate observer recounts--as only she can--the World’s Fair that got Seattle noticed, the citizen-led battle against freeways, the fight to keep Pike Place Market away from New York investors, the World Trade Organization protests, and more. She shares personal insights, delivers an insider’s view of the city’s newspaper strikes and rivalry, and casts a revealing look at regional politicians.

“For years, those of us who love our city have taken special pleasure that Jean was there with us, notebook in hand, pencil poised, madly scribbling what would become, in print, the most clever, insightful and profound reflections on the place we call home. From her first days as a reporter, to her days on the city council and beyond, Jean Godden and her ubiquitous notebook have been the essential guide to life in Seattle.”--from the Foreword by Leonard Garfield, Executive Director, Museum of History and Industry

Contents

Foreword by Leonard Garfield

Preface

Introduction: My Assignment

1. It Was a Secret Plot, 1962

2. Ramps to Nowhere, 1956-1972

3. Patty Hearst and Richard Nixon, 1974

4. Dixy Takes on the Big Boys, 1976-1980

5. “Seize that Vessel,” 1977-1989

6. Saving the Market Once Again, 1989-1991

7. Mayor Nice to the Rescue, 1989-1998

8. Writes of Passage, 1991

9. The Battle of Seattle, 1999

10. 49 Cold Days in Hell, 2000-2001

11. The Newspaper Wars: Who Won? 1981-2009

12. Candidate Godden, 2003

13. Let There Be Light, 2004-2008

14. Be Careful What You Wish For, 2008-2012

15. Watershed Moves, 2012-2014

16. Wages at War, 2013-2015

17. Citizen Godden, 2016

Acknowledgments

Sources

Index