Our Mayor

Meet Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin

Amy Shuler Goodwin was elected in 2018 as the first female Mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, and was re-elected in 2022. Since taking office in January 2019, Mayor Goodwin has prioritized fiscal accountability, transparent and efficient processes, diversity and inclusion, people-focused solutions, and forward-thinking policies and programming.  

As outlined in the 2024 State of the City address, Mayor Goodwin is championing four key initiatives— 

•  The construction of the Capitol Sports Center to take advantage of one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy – sports tourism.
• The construction of a new Fire/EMS Headquarters and the implementation of necessary upgrades to fire stations to provide better accommodations, and to provide a space where the city’s fire and EMS workers can learn, grow, and focus on their physical and personal health.
• Reimagining the Municipal Auditorium to capitalize on Charleston becoming a major entertainment hub.
• The construction of a new state-of-the-art Public Safety Center to better serve the community and the Charleston Police Department.

Mayor Goodwin, during her tenure, has spearheaded the

• Revitalization of existing park spaces and the strategic development of new parks, representing an investment of more than $20M and including City Center at Slack Plaza ($3.5M), the City’s first skatepark, and turfing 10 city-owned athletic fields ($8M).
• Return of the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta which generated $31.5M economic impact, attracted an estimated 210,000 attendees, and directly supported nearly 6,000 jobs in its first year back (2022); and generated $37.2M economic impact, attracted an estimated 220,000 visitors, and directly supported nearly 8,000 jobs in 2023. .
• Successful acquisition of more than $22M in grant funding for key initiatives including the Capital Connector Project which will enhance safety, improve transit access, and better connect our city; and the transformation of the Kanawha Manufacturing site into the Learning, Innovation, Food and Technology (LIFT) Center.
• Creation and continued maintenance of the largest rainy-day fund in the City’s history — starting with $4M and with a current balance of almost $17M.
• Recruitment and retention of all city employees — including police and fire — through salary increases, incentives, fixing pay discrepancies, and increasing the minimum hourly wage for full-time city employees to be no less than $15/hour.
• Establishment of the Coordinated Addiction Response Effort (CARE) in 2019 to address the impact of substance use disorder, and later expanded the CARE Office to include an equally strong effort to address mental health and homelessness.
• Development of a comprehensive strategy to address dilapidated structures and vacant properties—including the demolition of more than 525 structures (since 2019) and the creation of the Charleston Land Reuse Agency to reclaim vacant and abandoned properties for new housing and enhanced open spaces in our community.

Goodwin serves on the Women in Municipal Government, a caucus within the National League of Cities that brings together female municipal leaders to network and share best practices. She also serves on the West Virginia Municipal League Board of Directors and was appointed Chair of the Resolutions Committee (2023).

Goodwin, in her role as Mayor, has been honored with the Lydia Main Breaking Boundaries Award presented by the West Virginia Municipal League (2021), as one of the YWCA’s Women of Achievement (2020), and as Best West Virginia Mayor in West Virginia Living’s Best of West Virginia (2019 and 2020) — affirming her continued commitment to the Charleston community and her steadfast public service.

Goodwin has also received the Distinguished West Virginian Ward (2004 and 2014) for her meritorious service to the state, been honored as a West Virginia Young Gun (2015), and was selected as a member of Leadership West Virginia.

Goodwin has served as the Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Tourism for the State of West Virginia. Goodwin also served as Communications Director for several governors, a congressman, a presidential candidate, and former Charleston Mayor—the late G. Kemp Melton.

Goodwin owned and managed a public relations firm, worked as a TV anchor and reporter, and taught senior-level public relations courses at the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University and the University of Charleston. Goodwin is a graduate of West Virginia University.

Goodwin and her husband Booth have two boys—Joe and Sam.