by Kathy Zerler
Actionline, October 1998

Mary Goff was appointed to the St. Joseph City Commission in 1986 because she was active in the community and cared deeply about the future of her hometown. Several successful elections later, Goff still cares about St. Joseph's future.

“My kids are coming home with their own children,” said Goff of her three children Carol Michaels 33, Julie Koch 30 and Gary Koch 29. “With my grandchildren living in St. Joseph, I want our city to be the best it can be.”

As the first woman to be elected mayor of the five member commission that governs St. Joseph and the former mayor pro tem, she is in a strong position to effect positive change and to continue the work she has been involved in for twelve years. Goff lists three goals as top priorities for the immediate future:

1. Strengthening the retail, restaurant and professional service sector of downtown St. Joseph.

2. Renovation of infrastructure citywide including water, sewers and roads; and addressing building codes.

3. Completing the Edgewater development.

“These major projects all have to work together in order for us to compete successfully in the global marketplace,” said Goff, 57, a former speech therapist in the St. Joseph public schools and a registered nurse at Lakeland Regional Health System. “To best serve St. Joseph, we have to think globally and locally. There are a lot of issues that impact the future of our economic development.”

According to Goff, some of these issues include expanding our tax base by attracting more businesses and residents; maintaining our schools to their highest level of excellence; and addressing quality of life issues such as job opportunities, transportation and recreation.

“To move forward and accomplish our goals, it is imperative to continue working with our neighboring municipalities to make the entire southwest Michigan area attractive to businesses, residents and visitors,” Goff said. “St. Joseph is a beautiful city on Lake Michigan, it is my home and I love it here, yet we are not living in a vacuum. We must keep our eye on the future while preserving the qualities of life we all enjoy.”

Goff cited excellent schools and medical facilities, strong existing businesses, the snug location on the waterfronts of Lake Michigan and the St. Joseph River, clean beaches and city parks, myriad cultural and recreational opportunities and dedicated citizens as paramount to St. Joseph's high quality of life.

“We are blessed with a population of dedicated citizens who are committed to living well and working hard to make that happen here,” Goff said. “I am a worker, too; I respect the value of thoughtful action, it's hard work and it's worth it. The cooperation of individuals, businesses and volunteer groups is a big part of our heritage in St. Joseph. We can define our character in our ability to communicate with each other, to build partnerships and to work together to get things done.”

As the majority owner and president of Roy H. Liskey, Inc., the insurance agency her father established in 1923, Goff is proud of the family business she runs with the help her children and others.

“This year, we're celebrating 75 years in St. Joseph,” said Goff. “That's a lot of listening to the special needs of people and finding the right policies for them.”

Being a member of the city commission isn't much different. With her office located at 517 Broad Street in downtown St. Joseph, Goff is available on a daily basis to hear the concerns of her constituents. Most days, she gets an earful and that is just fine with her.

“I sit in that window for a reason,” Goff said. “I want to know what concerns and issues are on the minds of our residents. I need to hear from them in order to represent them. I feel like some of my best friends are people like Gloria Mance, manager of G & M Variety who come to every commission meeting or stop by to talk to me. We're a family.”

With no political aspirations other than representing St. Joseph and bringing the city to its highest potential, Goff believes her job is made easier by the involvement and goodwill of citizens.

“St. Joseph is known as `a special place on the lake.' We are a great place to live, to work and to raise a family,” said Goff who is married to Carl Goff. “We have become an appealing vacation destination, especially to the Chicago market, because we exude the small town values of honesty, integrity and caring for others in a location that is beautiful in all four seasons. We have the small town charm that attracts people who are tired of the rat race. Those facts are not going to change as we move forward to improve our waterfront areas with the Edgewater development, to market ourselves as a viable place to conduct business and to work with community leaders in neighboring municipalities.”