Sarah Godlewski
Two George Mason University alumni won elections on Nov. 6.
Sarah Godlewski (D), BA integrative studies ’04, was victorious in the race for Wisconsin state treasurer. Jim Hagedorn (R), BA government and politics ’93, won in southern Minnesota’s First Congressional District.
The pair add to the list of several Mason alumni who are holding or held public office.
Current officeholders from Mason include Delaware Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, and Virginia state lawmakers Charniele Herring, Jeremy McPike, Bryce Reeves and Glen Sturtevant. Mason alumni who previously held public office include former Florida U.S. congressman David Jolly and former Virginia state attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli.
Godlweski, 36, will sit on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, a three-person panel that manages $1 billion is state properties and funds to help pay for public schools, libraries and the University of Wisconsin System.
She told reporters in Wisconsin she wants to use her office to review state finances and protect senior citizens from exploitation.
Jim Hagedorn
“If our state isn’t financially healthy, our state isn’t healthy,” said Godlewski, who was Mason’s student body president in 2003. “We want to be prepared for whatever is ahead, and that’s exactly what this office should be doing as chief financial officer of the state.”
Hagedorn, 56, a former U.S. Department of the Treasury official, will represent an agricultural part of Minnesota.
“I appreciate the faith and confidence the people of southern Minnesota have shown in me, and I am honored to have the opportunity to represent them in Congress,” Hagedorn said in a statement. “We campaigned aggressively with a message of patient-centered healthcare, border security and work for welfare.”