Bruce Guthrie
LibertarianQ1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?
AI is a double-edged sword. It represents huge risks and huge potential rewards. Data centers must never be subsidized by any level of government. They should not create noise problems, nor increase electricity bills in communities. Ideally, they would come with their own power generation. And they should not be located in areas where there is a higher use for the land. But as long as they cause no harm, they should not be prohibited.
KEYWORDS: No Subsidies Risks
Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?
The tragedy of the commons is when property is held collectively, no one has an incentive to conserve it. Land stewardship is better under private non profits like the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited or the Sierra Club than it is under state or federal bureaucrats, who face no real disincentives when land is mismanaged. Sell land to private non-profits who have a better track record of good land stewardship.
KEYWORDS: Privatize Land Stewardship
Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?
Scores for 10th graders in Math, Science and Writing have all declined over the last ten years. Competition would improve school performance. This can be achieved through school choice, vouchers and privatization. Private schools achieve better results at lower tuition costs than we currently spend per student because they specialize and compete. Allow government schools to do that, too.
KEYWORDS: Competition, Vouchers, Privatization
Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?
Forests should be managed instead of left in neglect. Controlled burns to remove accumulated branches and deadfalls will prevent or reduce wildfires. Those who set fires should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Forest management can be compatible with wild habitat and recreation.
KEYWORDS: Manage forests wisely
Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?
Dams that are producing hydroelectric power should not be breached. Instead, fish ladders should be built around them and trees should be planted along banks to provide shade.
KEYWORDS: hydroelectric with fish