Remembering Grant Woods: Terry Goddard shares memories of Woods as Attorney General

Our remembrance of Grant Woods continues with former Phoenix mayor and State Attorney General, Terry Goddard, who spoke to us.

“I knew him a little bit in the 80’s when I was in office and he was sort of aspiring to be. And then really from the 1991 election on he was somebody I came in contact with and then became very close friends with,” Goddard said.

Their relationship really started when Woods, “started an investigation of me. In the middle of the campaign for Governor. And I thought it was unmerited and ultimately I think we both came to that conclusion but none the less it was a difficult start to a relationship but over the years and I’ll never forget meeting him at an intermission of a Sun’s game…we came together over criticism of the then Governor and his activities,” Goddard said.

“He was a courageous “AG” and a very good one. He was out in some landmark cases that frankly will be in history,” Goddard said.

He continued that the “tobacco settlement” was a big case.

“Grant came into an office which had basically run against him or he ran against them. So, the chief deputy of his predecessors…was Grant’s opponent in the primary election. And there was no good feeling that came out of that election,” Goddard said.

Goddard continued that Woods advocated for other’s rights and he was an early endorser of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, “in spite of the fact that most of his party was going the other way.”