Goulet doesn’t step out into the limelight often, but he has played a pivotal role in the early days of the Vince Gray administration as the D.C. mayor’s budget director. Gray hired Goulet from Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evan’s office to run the council’s budget office when Gray was council chairman. Gray took the Syracuse, N.Y., native with him when he became mayor. What do you do on an average weekend?
Well, the last four months you could find me in my office. I have my first child coming in two weeks and I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time with my family. I’m also looking forward to jogging again.
What brought you to D.C. originally?
I came out of law school and was interested in doing public policy work. I looked at the West Coast, but decided I wanted to stay east to be closer to my family. I moved to D.C. because I thought I would find a job in that area. When I got here I had two months’ rent and no job. I got lucky when I saw an advertisement published on a website for a job with Ward 8 Councilwoman Sandie Allen. It was the only job I interviewed for, and I got it.
How did you get into budgeting?
I went to work for Jack Evans after that as his committee clerk on the finance and revenue committee. I was initially on the revenue side and then spent four years as the council’s budget director when Vince Gray was chairman. I’ve always been better at math than English, so law school was sort of an odd choice.
Do you enjoy it?
I enjoy it very much. There are a lot of moving parts, and a lot of challenges. I have to make sure I put forward a budget that meets the needs of the city, the mayor’s priorities and also what Wall Street wants to see.
Freeman Klopott
