Goldwater Institute

Goldwater Institute

Established	1988
Chairman	Eric Crown
President	Darcy A. Olsen
Staff	31
Budget	Revenue: $4,450,101 Expenses: $4,244,199 (FYE December 2013)
Location	Phoenix, Arizona
Coordinates
Address	500 East Coronado Road Phoenix, Arizona 85004
Website	www.goldwaterinstitute.org

The Goldwater Institute is a Phoenix, Arizona-based conservative and libertarian public policy think tank. The Institute's stated mission is "to defend and strengthen the freedom guaranteed to all Americans in the constitutions of the United States and all fifty states." The organization was established in 1988 with the support of the late U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater. The organization was primarily a public policy research organization until 2007, when it added a litigation arm. Goldwater's litigation arm, the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, engages in lawsuits against government entities across the United States.

Overview

The Goldwater Institute was founded in 1988 by conservative activists with the blessing of Barry Goldwater. It is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Darcy A. Olsen is the Institute's president. She joined Goldwater in 2001 as executive director. The organization's board of directors includes Barry Goldwater, Jr.

The Goldwater Institute is a proponent of increased educational choice through charter schools and school vouchers. The organization has helped state lawmakers draft "right to try" laws, which allow terminally ill individuals to try experimental medications that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Litigation center

The Goldwater Institute created the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation in June 2007. The center, directed by lawyer Clint Bolick, engages in lawsuits against federal, state, and local governmental bodies to advocate adherence to constitutional law and to protect individual rights, such as property rights and entrepreneurial freedom, from potential government intrusion.

In Turken v. Gordon the Goldwater Institute sued the city of Phoenix over a $100 million corporate subsidy to the CityNorth development, which the Goldwater Institute argued was illegal under the Arizona Constitution.

In another case, Preston v. Hallman, the Goldwater Institute successfully sued the city of Tempe, Arizona on behalf of a tattoo parlor owner whose permit to operate was denied by the city council though it complied with zoning laws. In 2010, the Goldwater Institute successfully defended the right of voters to wear Tea Party t-shirts to the polls.

In Tombstone v. United States, the Goldwater Institute sued on behalf of the City of Tombstone, Arizona, which had been denied permission to use machinery to repair its water lines in an environmentally sensitive area.

In February 2015, the Goldwater Institute filed suit in Massachusetts, challenging the state’s century-old ban on corporate contributions to political candidates.

Reception

Journalist George Will described the Goldwater Institute as "America's most potent advocate of limited government." The Institute has been named "Best Capitol Watchdog Group" a number of times by the Arizona Capitol Times.

In 2013, the progressive Center for Media and Democracy released a report criticizing the institute for its funding, activities, and involvement in the American Legislative Exchange Council. In response, Goldwater Institute president Darcy Olsen said: "There seems to be a critique that we’re funded by conservatives. Of course we’re funded by conservatives — we’re a conservative think tank.”

External links

• Goldwater Institute
• EDIRC listing (provided by RePEc)
• Organizational Profile – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)
• "Barry Goldwater, Presidential Contender" from C-SPAN's The Contenders, broadcast from the Goldwater Institute