Goodwin seeks Metro Council, District 5 seat

Outlines vision for transparency, fiscal discipline, responsible growth

3:25 p.m. Feb. 26, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

With the 2026 Moore County elections approaching later this year, the Observer is conducting one-on-one interviews with candidates who have officially qualified for office. Candidates are not given questions in advance and have no input on the final written coverage. As part of the Observer’s commitment to independent, fact-based reporting, campaign letters or promotional submissions from candidates are not accepted.

• • •

Brady Goodwin doesn’t see himself as a politician. He’s more at ease talking about hayfields, utility lines, and century farms than campaign tactics. As he runs for a District 5 seat on the Metro Council, Goodwin says his campaign is all about service.

“I don’t have anything to gain out of this,” Goodwin said in a recent interview. “I’m not a builder. I’m not a developer. I’m sacrificing quite a bit to do this. One thing I will gain is a clear conscience.”

Raised in Moore County – and Still Invested

Goodwin has lived in Moore County his whole life and is the son of Tim and Tammy Goodwin. He grew up surrounded by small business and farming, working in the family vending business, helping on the farm, hauling hay, and learning early what it means to earn a living.

His mother’s family taught him about entrepreneurship, while his father’s side, with roots in Normandy and rural Moore County, taught him resilience. He often shares family stories about both poverty and prosperity, and how neither one guaranteed happiness.

“Being on the richer end of things doesn’t always equal a better life,” he said. “I’ve got a pretty diverse perspective on life.”

That perspective has influenced his career choices and how he thinks about government.

Goodwin graduated from Moore County High School, where he played football. He started out working at Food Lion in Tullahoma, then got a job at Tullahoma Utilities. He began in the water department as a temporary worker and later moved to the electric department after finishing a tough apprenticeship in line work.

“It’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done professionally,” he said, describing the grueling physical and classroom training required to become a lineman. “You get the roughest jobs. You develop a thick skin, or you wash out.”

Often on call as a lineman, he says this is a reminder that essential services don’t stop when the workday ends.

Government Grounded in Household Economics

When asked about the role of Metro Council, Goodwin gives a direct answer: transparency and fiscal responsibility are his top priorities.

“We’re not marching armies off to war in local government,” he said. “But if Moore County is not doing well financially, then we can’t help anybody.”

He compares county budgeting to household budgeting.

“If you make $10 and you want to eat a $12 steak, you don’t have enough money,” he said. “You look at your essentials first.”

For Goodwin, essentials include law enforcement, fire services, emergency management, and public safety infrastructure. He supports exploring ways to generate revenue that don’t rely so heavily on property taxes. He has spoken in favor of the proposed tourist sales tax, saying visitors would pay most of it rather than residents.

“Would you like to have an extra $80,000 in your bank account?” he asked rhetorically. “I would too.”

He criticizes what he sees as a lack of communication between elected officials and the people they serve. Goodwin says being accessible is important all year, not just during campaign season.

“If I’m representing you, I want you to have access to me,” he said. “And I want to talk to you, not just when I’m on the campaign trail.”

Growth – But Not at Any Cost

Goodwin believes Moore County needs to move forward, but he says it should happen “gracefully.”

He supports economic development, particularly industries that provide strong wages and long-term sustainability. He points to aerospace and advanced industry as logical targets, given Moore County’s proximity to regional employers.

“We send a lot of Moore County residents to surrounding counties to make money,” he said. “Why can’t we encourage that industry here?”

He also emphasizes supporting agriculture and maximizing farmland productivity.

At the same time, he is cautious about growth that could take away from the county’s character.

“I’ve seen a lot of small towns think they’re making progress and wind up destroying beautiful old buildings to put up something that looks like a cardboard box made out of concrete,” he said.

He supports having architectural standards and careful planning. He believes Moore County’s identity, especially around the historic square, is an economic asset.

“If you want to have a beautiful town, you’ve got to make it beautiful,” he said. “It’s not going to be beautiful on its own.”

Planning, Zoning, and Property Standards

Goodwin has expressed a strong interest in planning and zoning issues and believes in long-term strategic planning – three-, five-, 10-, and even 30-year outlooks – with periodic reassessment.

He supports the idea that private property rights are important, but says community standards matter too.

“If we want this town to be prosperous, junking it up is not the way to achieve that goal,” he said.

He says that visible blight affects the value of nearby properties, and that planning and zoning should balance the “greater good” with individual rights.

He also supports looking at how some local boards are set up, including possibly changing the composition of the Urban Council. He wants to ensure the entire county is represented while still respecting District 1’s interests.

Emergency Services and Healthcare Access

Goodwin is firmly opposed to reducing or outsourcing local emergency services.

“Think about response time,” he said. “If you’ve got to come from another county first, you’ve already lost minutes.”

He praised Moore County’s Emergency Management Agency and its leadership, and he has floated the idea of developing a medical facility along the Highway 55 corridor to improve access between existing regional hospitals.

“With the traffic we’ve got and the growth we’ve got around us, that’s worth serious consideration,” he said.

Family, Faith, and Personal Integrity

Goodwin and his wife Katie, who works at the local utility department, have been married for nearly 10 years and have built their life in District 5. He speaks proudly of her integrity and has said he would step aside from any vote that directly affects her job.

He frequently returns to the concept of family responsibility, including caring for aging parents and strengthening the community through churches and civic institutions.

“I try to live by a standard,” he said. “When I get ready to do something, I ask myself: ‘Am I going to have to lie about this?’ I’m not going to lie. And I’m not going to do anything I’d have to lie about.”

Pride in Place

Whether it’s restoring century farms or preserving historic buildings, Goodwin’s message centers on pride in his community.

“I want people to be proud to say they’re from that beautiful town in Middle Tennessee,” he said. “I want them to be proud of that courthouse. Proud of the square. Proud of their district.”

District 5 has important assets, like the Motlow State campus. Goodwin thinks Moore County should do more to claim and promote it. “We’re the only district with a college,” he said. “That matters.”

In the end, Goodwin frames his candidacy less as a political ambition and more as a civic obligation. “You can’t change people,” he said. “But you can change what you do about the situation you see.”

For Goodwin, that means stepping up to serve, whether it’s with a shovel or lineman’s gloves in hand.