Bruce Guthrie is a 61 year-old retired Operations, Sales and Marketing Executive, with a second career in teaching. He has lived in Edmonds since 2008, and moved from the Midwest to Washington State in 1994. He and his wife, Julia have three kids in local private schools.

Education:

BA Cornell U. 1987

MBA Northwestern U. 1992

Masters In Teaching, Seattle U. 2008

Everything costs too much. From gas to groceries to rent. And it's not big, greedy corporations that cause this. Corporations face competition. If they raise prices, they get undercut. Instead, the cause of inflation is the government. The Federal Reserve prints too much money, and excessive government spending bids up the price of necessities.

And taxes raise prices. The gas tax in WA is among the highest in the US. Business and Occupations taxes are passed through to consumers in grocery prices. The rent is high because property taxes are high and over-regulation of land reduces the supply of housing. Inflation is caused by the incumbents in DC and Olympia. They are at fault for the misery we are feeling.

Government spending in WA is at record levels. So are tax revenues. And the incumbents are so greedy, that now they want to tax your income. No, this is not just about the Millionaires. Just like the Federal income tax, this new state income tax will soon reach down to affect the middle class. That is the only way it can generate significant revenue for the greedy, selfish incumbents. There just aren't enough millionaires to do that.

A vote for Bruce Guthrie is a vote to fight the irresponsible spending in Olympia, and to fight this new, unconstitutional state income tax, which will wind up reducing job opportunities for the poor and middle class. Enough is enough. Vote for Bruce Guthrie for intelligent change.

Top Issues:

• Oppose/Repeal State Income Tax. (When you tax something, you tend to get less of it. And because of the new income tax, we will get less job creation.) Reduce other state taxes, including gas taxes.
• Reduce State Spending to help Reduce Inflation and consumer prices.
• Eliminate Flock Cameras.
• Protect women's sports by precluding genetic males from competing against genetic females in grades 9 and above.
• Implement a voucher system so parents have the choice of where to send their kids to school. Competition will reverse the decline in standardized test scores.
• Help ICE deport ONLY people convicted of crimes other than illegal immigration. Stand aside peacefully without cooperating when they try to deport all others.
• Re-assert states rights on issues not delegated within the Constitution to the Federal Government. Oppose dictatorship where WA State has legitimate authority.
• Defend the Bill of Rights
• Reduced traffic congestion by building more highway lanes on I-5 and I-405
• Fewer homeless by arresting shoplifters and bike thieves. Stop encouraging homelessness by the current policy of subsidizing it.
• Term Limits. Four terms in the WA Legislature or in the House of representatives is plenty.

I will work with like-minded Representatives of any party to enact these goals.

My Ballotpedia listing

The incumbent has been in office since 2014. Over that time period, nearly everything has gotten worse. She serves on the Learning and Human Services Committee, the Environment Committee and the Transportation Committee. During her tenure, educational scores have gotten worse, homelessness has increased, the environment has not improved and traffic congestion has gotten worse. She claims to be a leader in these areas. But when a leader fails, she should be replaced.

Education Test Scores

Standardized test scores have gone down in WA State between 2017 and 2025.

Level 1: Indicates the student showed below grade-level knowledge.
Level 2 or above: Indicates the student showed foundational grade-level knowledge.
Level 3 or above: Indicates the student showed consistent grade-level knowledge and is on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes.
Level 4: Indicates the student showed advanced grade-level knowledge.

SBA scores for ELA and Math for grades 3-8 and 10, WCAS scores for science for grades 5-8 and 11.

Source: https://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/103300

Notice that from 2017 to 2025, the percentage of students scoring level 1, below grade-level has increased in all three areas. Also, the percentage of students scoring level 4, advanced grade-level knowledge has decreased in all three areas.

The incumbent has failed to produce improvements in education in Washington. Her policies and bad leadership are making things worse.

Homelessness

In 2016, there were 126,238 homeless in WA State. In 2023, there were 165,749 homeless in WA State. That's a 31.3% increase in 7 years. In that same period the WA State population went from 7.3 million to 7.8 million, a 6.8% increase. The rate of homelessness has gone up 4.6 times faster than population growth over these years.

Source: WA State Dept of Health website.

The incumbent's policies have lead to increased homelessness in Washington.

Traffic Congestion

According to tomtom.com, Seattle has the 7th worst traffic congestion of any US city.

According to the WA DOT, traffic congestion has gotten worse in the Seattle area in each year since 2020. In Seattle, vehicle delay was 3.7 million hours in 2014 (source: WSDOT CCR15.pdf) and 4.3 million hours in 2023.

https://wsdot.wa.gov/about/data/multimodal-mobility-dashboard/dashboard/central-puget-sound/default.htm

Gas Prices

In Feb of 2016, average gas price in WA State was $2.11 per gal. As of July of 2026 it is $5 per gallon.

Source: eia.gov

The politicians in Olympia claim to care that our State's tax system is regressive. Yet they maintain the most regressive tax, the State gas tax, which is among the highest in America. Their plan is to make driving less affordable, and to force us in to trains and buses that Washingtonians do not prefer.

The incumbent's policies and votes, including those for the Climate Commitment Act have produced higher gas prices in Washington.

State Government Spending

Now at record levels, and the growth of State government spending exceeds the sum of the rates of inflation and population growth.

"The more is given the less the people will work for themselves, and the less they work the more their poverty will increase."
-- Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoi (1828-1910) Russian writer

Unemployment

WA is now (June 2026) in a four-way tie with CT, OR, and CA for the highest unemployment rate in the US at 5.2%. In December of 2019 the rate was 3.7%, and has done nothing but increase (get worse) since then.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WAUR

The bad policies of the incumbent have hurt the business climate of the State, and increased unemployment.

Environment

The Climate Commitment Act enacted 2021 and the Cap and invest program of 2023 have not improved the environment, but instead have been excuses for the incumbent to give taxpayer money to people based on their race.

"Climate justice provisions

The Climate Commitment Act requires that a minimum of 35%, with a stated goal of 40%, of auction proceeds be used for climate justice, meaning projects that benefit overburdened communities, defined as:

"a geographic area where vulnerable populations face combined, multiple environmental harms and health impacts or risks due to exposure to environmental pollutants or contaminants through multiple pathways, which may result in significant disparate adverse health outcomes or effects."[39]

Additionally, at least 10% of investments must go towards projects formally supported by an Indian tribe.[40]

For air pollution mitigation projects, Department of Ecology identified 16 areas which were both overburdened and highly impacted by air pollution.[41][42][43] The results of this study were used as eligibility criteria for $10 million offered in Air quality in overburdened communities grants.[44]

In the first full biennium where CCA funds were distributed, Ecology far surpassed the minimum of 35% spending benefiting overburdened communities with 57% of revenue spent on OBCs. However, the amount of spending on projects supported by a Tribal resolution fell short of the required 10%, reaching only 4%.

Spending by agency

Agency	2023-25[38]
Transportation	$522 m
Commerce	$488 m
Natural Resources	$168 m
Ecology	$83 m
Health	$44 m
Washington Conservation Corps	$33 m
University of Washington	$23 m
Recreation and Conservation Office	$17 m
Transportation Improvement Board	$17 m
Washington State University	$14 m
Department of Enterprise Services	$14 m
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction	$13 m
All other agencies combined	$62 m

Example investments from 2023-25 biennium

• Free public transit (bus, Link light rail, commuter rail, ferry, Amtrak Cascades) for all youth age 18 and under.[45][46][47][48]
• One time $200 rebate on electricity bill for low-to-medium income households.[49]
• E-bike instant rebate program ($5 M).[50]
• Financial assistance for purchasing heat pumps and installing insulated windows.[49]
• Move Ahead WA public transportation grant programs ($3,000M/16yr)[51]
• Building 5,000 new EV charging stations ($85 M)[52]
• Electrifying Guemes Island Ferry ($34 M)[53]
• Replacing the boilers at the Kaiser Aluminum plant in Spokane ($5 M).[54]
• Air quality in overburdened communities grants ($10 M)[55]
• Pedestrian bridge spanning I-5 to access Shoreline South/148th St Link light rail station.[56]
• Climate and Health Adaptation Initiative (CHAI)[57]
• Improving Air Quality in Overburdened Communities[41]"

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap-and-Invest_(Washington_state)

"It is not Democracy that prevents dictatorship. Dictators have come to power many times in History through democratic processes. Instead, it is the love that exists within the hearts of the People for things like Freedom that prevents dictatorship, and in the US, that's love for the Bill of Rights." - Bruce Guthrie

Olympia has bad leadership. Increasing taxation and wasteful spending on education, jobs and transportation have resulted in worse educational outcomes, fewer jobs, lower wages (after inflation) and worse traffic. Healthcare and insurance costs are up, and more mentally ill or addicted people are homeless. As a father of three, I aspire for better in Washington State.

We need school choice, more police to arrest shoplifters, tax relief, and for the government to get out of the way of small business. I will work to lift the burden of bad government from our backs so we and our children may prosper.

Snohomish County Republicans name Bruce Guthrie "...the only qualified candidate for this position..."!

Endorsed by US Term Limits

"…Bruce is a joy to watch. The best I've ever seen. Reminds me so much of Murray Rothbard, and especially of Milton Friedman. If only all Libertarians could present themselves this way. As basically normal, likable people who in no way scare others as they very calmly and rationally utterly destroy their opponents arguments with pure reason, logic, and the facts. More power to him. Let the crazy Trumpsters in the GOP learn from him." B.D.

Stand for Health Freedom endorses Bruce Guthrie for 21st Legislative District position 2:

Stand for Health Freedom's Values

Regarding the Everett Herald editorial board meeting video:

"…I certainly enjoyed Bruce's presentation. I was impressed that he was so aggressive and blunt with the editor and Ms. Ortiz. He was clear and principled. I was actually quite shocked that she was so soft in her response. She really didn't have a counterattack on the points Bruce made, even agreeing with him that the schools have shortchanged the poor and disadvantaged. But then she continued on with support. She said so many of the attempts at school choice had failed, but didn't examine at all why. He made the good counter argument that was personal and close to home but maybe I missed the explanation of why these failed examples in other states may have been because they weren't really free market. But that is tough to go into in this venue. Yes, the transit plans are boondoggles, but so are the government highways. More lanes open doesn't really seem to be consumer choice unless the roads are private and competitive and tolls pay for them. Still his point was good here and only libertarians might quibble about government road monopolies. I was impressed that he showed the contrast between her words and the effect of her words on the small businesses and the poor, especially during COVID and the politician's currying favor with the powerful. Oh, and I loved that he kept saying the newspaper editor would endorse her no matter what. The editor's response that "we just present all candidates fairly and let the voter decide" doesn't square with the newspaper endorsement at all. Bruce really got him on that. I was surprised that the editor and Ms. Ortiz were so unprepared as to not attack the libertarian positions on things. It seemed they didn't even know what a libertarian is. They could have done some homework in advance, as Bruce did, and tried to make Bruce out to be an extremist, but they were very easy on him. Bruce was accusatory of Ms. Ortiz, and she just seemed passive rather than outraged. Good for Bruce!! Yes, a stellar performance. What impact?" K.S.