New Hampshire’s free-market think tank

The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy is the only organization grown in the rocky soil of the Granite State whose mission is to develop and advance practical, free-market policies that promote prosperity and opportunity for all. 

Since our founding in 1993, the Bartlett Center has been New Hampshire’s premier advocate for free markets and limited government.  Through a carefully crafted blend of high quality research, persuasive advocacy, outreach events, and media engagement, we’ve earned a bipartisan reputation as an effective and influential force for freedom in Concord and beyond.  

Our position as a respected policy organization in the First-in-the-Nation primary state also gives us a unique opportunity to make our mark on national politics.  Our well-regarded work has made us a reliable source for news organizations and political professionals seeking expert analysis of presidential politics and national economic issues. Our staff has appeared on news programs from coast to coast.  

How did we do this?  Not alone!  For more than 25 years, Granite Staters passionate about free markets and limited government made our success possible.  Our donors and supporters share our vision of New Hampshire in which all individuals enjoy the abundant opportunities produced by a free society.  They are the ones who make sure we have the resources needed to continue the fight.  

Working together, we’ve shown that a group of committed patriots can protect New Hampshire’s “live free or die” political culture while making the state a freer and more prosperous place for all Granite Staters and their children.

 

Vision

The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy envisions a New Hampshire where all individuals enjoy the abundant opportunities produced by a free society.

 

Mission

The mission of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy is to develop and advance practical, free-market policies that promote prosperity and opportunity for all.

 

Organization

The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy is a non-profit, non-partisan, independent think tank organized under section 501(C)(3) of the U.S. tax code. The center is supported entirely by private, tax-deductible donations.

 

Social Media

Twitter: JBartlett_NH

Facebook: JosiahBartlettCenter

Instagram: JosiahBartlettCenter

 

President

Andrew Cline was named president of the Josiah Bartlett Center in 2017. He spent 14 years as editor of the editorial page of the New Hampshire Union Leader, where his work won him two New Hampshire Press Association Editorial Writer of the Year awards. A USA Today contributor, he has been published in more than 100 newspapers and magazines, including The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and The Weekly Standard. He was appointed chair of the State Board of Education in 2017.

 

Board of Directors

James Sununu, Chairman, Business Owner, North Hampton
Peter Angerhofer, Businessman, Durham
Marc Brown, New England Ratepayers Association, Newfields
Tom Eaton, Former Senate President, Keene
Vikram Mansharamani, Author & Analyst, Lincoln
Dan McGuire, investor, former state representative, Epsom
Lisa Shapiro, Economist, Canterbury
Sara Shirley, Shirley Farm, Goffstown
Emeritus, Gov. John H. Sununu, Former Governor, Hampton Falls

 

Co-Founders

Emily M. and Edgar T. Mead, Etna
Emily Mead began a life long interest in public policy and politics at Barnard College. Following graduation, she was only one of a dozen in the room with Thomas Dewey when he lost his presidential bid.  The granddaughter of a Congressman from her native Iowa, Emily worked on numerous campaigns, including  John V. Lindsay’s successful  campaign for Mayor of New York. In addition to her political activities, she also volunteered for several; charities in Manhattan.  Later in life, New Hampshire became the recipient of her energies where her efforts have ranged from flipping pancakes for Executive Councilor Ray Burton to a bid for state Representative. In the culmination of a dream, she was brought on board by the George H.W. Bush Administration to work in the Domestic Policy office at the White House.The Josiah Bartlett Center was launched in 1992, following Bush’s loss to Arkansas Governor  Bill Clinton – Emily’s late husband Edgar and daughter Mary Mead attended an ultimately auspicious talk given at the Heritage Foundation. The speaker urged those present interested in effecting lasting change to “get out of Washington and head back to your states.”  Soon after, they both presented her with the challenge: start a non-partisan public policy center in New Hampshire to harness her considerable energy and intelligence. Thus the Josiah Bartlett Center was born.

 

Founding Trustees

Stephen P. Farrar, Guardian Industries Corporation, Auburn Hills, MI
Joan P. Fowler, Hanover
Janice B. Kitchen, Small Business Development Center, Gilford
Johannes Kuttner, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Dennis E. Logue, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ledyard Financial Group
Mary H. Mead, Artist, Warner
Mark Lennon, New London

 

Josiah Bartlett

“Josiah Bartlett could not have been better suited to the task of restoring public faith to the institutions of government.”
Professor Jere Daniell, Experiment in Republicanism, 1970.

The Center is named for Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795), a member of the Continental Congress, signer of the Declaration of Independence, distinguished physician, founder of the New Hampshire Medical Society, colonel of the militia, and Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. He served as chief executive of New Hampshire from 1790-1794. After the 1793 revision of the constitution, he became the first constitutionally elected chief executive of New Hampshire to bear the title of governor. After his governorship, he was elected to the U.S. Senate but declined to serve.

According to a modern account, “Bartlett took his ideas of limited government seriously. In 1792 he told members of the legislature that they had carried out their duties so well that he could not think of anything for them to do. They packed their bags and went home.” The same article noted that, “Bartlett was a reluctant politician, and in any case he was more public servant than politician.”