FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                               CONTACT:

September 7, 2017                                                                                                                               Chris Cargill (509) 570-2384

SPOKANE – Washington Policy Center – the state’s leading, independent research organization with offices in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Seattle and Olympia – is proud to announce this year’s recipient of the Champion of Freedom award at our Eastern Washington Annual Dinner will be the Lincoln County Commissioners.

“Last September Lincoln County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to require transparency for all the county’s collective bargaining compensation talks with its public employees,” said Jason Mercier, WPC’s Director, Center for Government Reform. “Their monumental commitment to open government has now inspired other local governments to embrace contract transparency.”

Lincoln County Commissioners Rob Coffman, Scott Hutsell, and Mark Stedman, will be honored with WPC’s 2017 Annual Champion of Freedom Award for their courage in being the first county in the state to “conduct all collective bargaining contract negotiations in a manner that is open to the public” and for “providing public notice of all collective bargaining negotiations in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.”  Their model legislation is now being followed by governments across the state, bringing transparency to the process and an end to the appearance of secret deal-making.

The Lincoln County Commissioners set a great example for greater transparency in government and increased accountability with taxpayer dollars. Following suit, both the Pullman School District and the Tukwila School District voted to improve transparency and accountability by ending the secrecy of closed door negotiations.

The 2017 Eastern Washington Annual Dinner will be held on Wednesday, September 27^th at the Davenport Grand Hotel in Spokane. Nigel Farage of the European Union will be featured as a guest speaker. A second keynote speaker will also be announced soon. Tickets are still available on wpcannualdinner.com.

Recent Champion of Freedom recipients include Secretary of Defense General James Mattis, Congressman Doc Hastings, and Dr. Shelley Redinger.

Washington Policy Center focuses on seven key research areas: Agriculture, Education, Environment, Government Reform, Health Care, Small Business & Labor Reform and Transportation.

###

Washington Policy Center

Improving lives through market solutions

Seattle · Olympia · Spokane · Tri-Cities
www.washingtonpolicy.org | www.WashingtonVotes.org
www.washingtonpolicyblog.org | www.OlympiaPolicyWatch.org