City Desk

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Category: City Desk

• Moe Goodwin
• Chief Executive candidate
• Blackfeet and Cree

story and photo by Paul F. Vang

Cathy “Moe” Goodwin is a not a person you can define in just a few words, though if you try, work ethic would be near the top of the list, along with wife, mother, and businesswoman. She recently added the word, candidate, to that list, when she filed as a candidate for Chief Executive of Butte-Silver Bow.

It’s becoming a crowded field, joining incumbent J.P. Gallagher, journalist Bill Foley (featured in February Butte News) and Raelynn Brandl, Executive Director of the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program (CFWEP).

In explaining her decision to enter the race, she relates, “A bunch of us were talking about public issues and problems, with many complaining about one thing or another. We decided someone should do something about it, and I said, ‘I’m going to file for Chief Executive.’”

Moe was born in Butte and graduated from Butte High School. She is proud of her Native American heritage and her Blackfeet and Cree background. She explains that her name, Moe, is an abbreviation of her Blackfeet name, which begins with Mo, and adds that, “I really don’t even answer to Cathy.”  Growing up, she spent many of her formative years living with her great-grandmother on the Blackfeet Reservation. Her great-grandmother was, and continues to be, a strong influence in Moe’s life.

After finishing high school, Moe started work as a laborer for a concrete contractor who built bridges across much of Montana. She started as a cement finisher and worked her way up to foreman. She also worked at the ASARCO smelter in East Helena.

She looked at her co-workers and how many of them were seemingly beaten down and physically worn out by the time they got into their 30s, and she decided she’d better get out of that line of work, though she continued long enough to vest her union pension rights.

She started a janitorial business in 1991 and she and her husband continue to operate that business, which services a number of area business and professional offices. She also has another full-time job as manager of Air Exchange Oxygen in uptown Butte. She started work there in 2012, after being diagnosed with sleep apnea, and was dissatisfied with her treatment program. She decided to do something about it, studying to become a Certified Respiratory Therapist, so she could help other people with respiratory problems.

Moe and her husband, Steve, have three children, a daughter who is a senior at Montana Tech, with plans to get a master’s degree after graduation; a son, who works in the janitorial business, and a younger daughter, a junior at Butte High School.

Moe summarizes her management philosophy in two words, communication and collaboration. As a business manager, she sets aside time for an employee meeting every Wednesday morning where they talk about any issues that might be affecting the business, and her usual response to ideas and suggestions is, “Write it down.” On Thursdays, she holds a brainstorming session. These weekly meetings usually don’t take long but they go a long way on her theme of continuous improvement. She also underlines that all the employees are cross-trained, so people are able to instantly step in and cover any needs. She says she’s always looking for ways to improve.

As an example of her management style’s results, she relates that the business must pass a Medicare accreditation audit every three years. It’s a process that typically takes three days. On the last audit, it took a total of 11 hours and the business passed with flying colors.

Moe suggests that her style of management, with her theme of communication and collaboration, is something that is needed in local government, citing street projects that seem disjointed.

She returns to how her great-grandmother, a woman of great wisdom, continues to influence her life, even though she died years ago at age 99. She would tell the story of a forest fire and birds and animals running through the forest to get away from danger. A jaguar was one of the animals, and the jaguar noticed a hummingbird that flew away from the fire, then would return towards to flames. After seeing the tiny bird do this a number of times, the jaguar asked hummingbird what it was doing, flying back and forth. Hummingbird said it was going to a lake to get a bill-full of water to drop on the fire. Jaguar laughed at the bird, saying that tiny bit of water couldn’t possibly stop the fire. Hummingbird replied, “Maybe not, but if we all do our part, miracles can happen.”

The gods heard the conversation and were moved by Hummingbird’s words and sent a drenching rain to the forest that put out the fire.

Relating to her great-grandmother’s story, Moe says, “I just want to do my part. I want people to communicate and collaborate. Maybe we can make some miracles happen.”

About becoming a candidate, she says, “It’s a new adventure.” She adds that her husband said, “I’ve been on this wild ride for 23 years—might as well see what happens next.”

Her closing thought? “I just want to do my part—and my name is easy to remember.”