Washington Policy Center

WPC has eight research centers, each focusing on a specific policy area: education, environment, government reform, health care, small business, transportation, worker rights, and agriculture. ⁴ Additionally, WPC performs research on policies concerning ballot measures, criminal justice, labor and employment, property rights, and technology and telecommunications. ⁴

The Washington Policy Center is an affiliate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ⁵

Activity

The Washington Policy Center (WPC) is a non-partisan, free-market think tank based in Seattle, with offices in Olympia, Spokane, and the Tri-Cities. ²

WPC has eight research centers, each focusing on a specific policy area: education, environment, government reform, health care, small business, transportation, worker rights, and agriculture. ⁴ Additionally, WPC performs research on policies concerning ballot measures, criminal justice, labor and employment, property rights, and technology and telecommunications. ⁴

Policy Areas

The WPC Initiative on Agriculture advocates for the use of free market incentives in agricultural policy, promoting “local solutions” and regulatory changes. ⁶

The Center for Education uses its research to make recommendations intended to improve schools. Recommendations include school choice, charter school expansion, education savings accounts, and repealing Washington’s certification rules and lifetime tenure policy for teachers. ⁷

The Center for the Environment claims that current state environmental policies are “expensive and ineffective” and points to the state’s failure to meet its CO2 emissions goals. WPC promotes free-market solutions to address this, claiming that individuals and businesses can be more effective than public policy. ⁸

The Center for Government Reform advocates for more transparency, accountability, and performance from the state government. ⁹

The Center for Health Care claims that patient-centered free market solutions would reduce healthcare costs while improving quality and accessibility. ¹⁰

The Center for Small Business provides information and analysis on state regulations and tax structure, to improve Washington’s small-business climate. ¹¹

The Coles Center for Transportation researches and analyzes the costs of state highway and transit projects. ¹²

The Center for Workers Rights currently supports transparency in collective bargaining and removing state requirements for occupational licenses for certain workers. It also claims that young people are the most likely group of workers to be negatively impacted by a higher minimum wage. ¹³

WPC operates WashingtonVotes.org, which provides information on every bill, vote, and amendment in the Washington state legislature. ¹⁴

Young Professionals Program

WPC’s Young Professionals (YP) program has chapters across Washington, promoting a free market policy agenda in order to create more young leaders that support these efforts. To do so, YP publishes a monthly newsletter and hosts events, including happy hours, summer socials, an annual dinner, and an annual “solutions summit.” ¹⁵

Funding

WPC receives funding from individuals, foundations, and businesses. Notable donors include the Donors Capital Fund, which contributed between 2007 and 2015;¹⁶ the State Policy Network, which has contributed since 2009;¹⁷ and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which has contributed between 2014 and 2017. ¹⁸ WPC has also received funding from the Charles G. Koch Foundation. ¹⁹

People

Michael Gallagher is the president and CEO, as of January 2024. Previously, he served as the president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, a trade association representing the video game industry, from 2007 through 2018. Prior to this, he was the Communication Practice Chair Perkins Coie LLP law firm from 2006 through 2007, and served several positions with the US Department of Commerce NTIA between 2001 and 2006 including Assistant Secretary and the head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. ^{20 21}

Paul Guppy is the vice president for research at WPC and formerly served as a Congressional chief of staff and legislative director. ²²

David Boze is the communications director for WPC and a former research analyst for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. ²³

Todd Myers is the director of the Center for the Environment, serves on the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council, and is a former member of the executive team at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Myers serves as president of the Prescription Drug Assistance Foundation and formerly served as vice president of the Northwest Association of Biomedical Research. ²² Myers is a former member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Natural Resources Task Force. ²⁴

Dr. Roger Stark, MD is a senior fellow and the former health care policy analyst for WPC. (from 2008 through 2020). He sits on the board of the Washington Liability Reform Coalition. ²⁰

Mark Harmsworth is the director of the Center for Small Business and formerly served two terms in the Washington State House of Representatives. ²²

Liv Finne is the director of the Center for Education at WPC²² and formerly represented WPC on ALEC’s Education Task Force. ²⁵