Lee E. Goodman (born March 29, 1964) was a member and former chair of the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

(FEC), an independent regulatory agency created by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance law.

Biography

Goodman was born on March 29, 1964, in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a teacher. He received his B.A. degree with highest distinction in 1986 from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, where he double majored in American Government and Rhetoric & Communication Studies. He received his J.D. degree in 1990 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Articles Editor for the U.Va. Journal of Law & Politics. Goodman practiced election law in private practice for the better part of two decades and served in a number of governmental and political posts. In private practice, he represented candidates, public officials, political parties, political action committees, non-profit organizations, and media companies in addressing a wide range of laws regulating their political activities and speech. He advised four presidential campaigns from 2007 to 2012. He served as general counsel of the

Republican Party of Virginia The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) is the Virginia chapter of the Republican Party. It is based at the Richard D. Obenshain Center in Richmond. History The party was established in 1854 by opponents of slavery and secession in the commonwe ...

(2009-2013). He also represented non-political clients in addressing other regulatory and public policy issues. Goodman has authored several articles on election law, including a chapter on regulation of political speech on the Internet in the book Law and Election Politics - The Rules of the Game (Routledge 2013), and he has lectured frequently on election law topics. He has served on the boards of several political, educational and cultural non-profit organizations. He is recognized as a national expert in close elections, recounts and election administration. Goodman was the 2014 Lefever Fellow at

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by ...

. His prior government service includes four years as legal counsel and policy advisor to the Governor of Virginia (1998-2002) and three years as counsel and special assistant to the

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ...

(1995-1997). He served as chief adviser to the Chairman of the Congressional Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (1999-2000). On February 7, 2018, Goodman announced his retirement from the FEC effective February 16, 2018.

References

External links

*
Lee Goodman at allgov.com
Living people 1964 births University of Virginia alumni Members of the Federal Election Commission Virginia Republicans Politicians from Danville, Virginia University of Virginia School of Law alumni Obama administration personnel Trump administration personnel {{US-gov-bio-stub