Week in Review: Remembering Logan Van Sittert

All of us at the Goldwater Institute are saddened at the recent passing of our dear friend, Logan Van Sittert, who passed away after a long fight with cancer. We extend our condolences to his wife Barbara, his family and friends, and all of those who are suffering this loss.

Logan is remembered as a loving husband, father, and successful businessman whose deep and abiding generosity will benefit our community and nation for generations to come. Born in Pella, Iowa on August 16, 1934, Logan attended Iowa State University where he received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. He went on to marry his college sweetheart, Barbara Culver, and together they moved to Phoenix..

Logan was a leading architect in Arizona, helping to design bank branch buildings, the East Maricopa County Court Building in downtown Phoenix, and a number of buildings throughout Arizona with his business partner Paul Davis, with whom he founded the company Indianola Partners.

Logan’s professional success allowed him and his wife Barbara to pursue their shared passion of giving back to their country as true patriots and constitutionalists. In what is the largest gift in the Goldwater Institute’s history, Logan and Barbara established the Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy, a permanent center to defend our founding principles and instill those values into the next generation of Americans. Thanks to the Van Sitterts’ vision and generosity, the Goldwater Institute has been able to greatly expand our work in defending constitutional rights and promoting an understanding, appreciation, and support for the U.S. Constitution, as Logan and Barbara envisioned.

Last year, Logan reflected on his and his wife’s gift to the Goldwater Institute and what it means to them. “This Center will help ensure that the importance of documents such as the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights are not lost on future generations,” he said. “The Van Sittert Center is our opportunity to permanently promote the principles that make America the model for all freedom-loving people everywhere.”

We at the Goldwater Institute are eternally grateful to Logan for his friendship, and we extend to Barbara our deepest condolences.

Victor Riches
President and CEO

The Goldwater Institute

Accomplished Psychologist Free to Work, Thanks to Goldwater

After a long and tedious fight, the Goldwater Institute has secured justice for Dr. Carol Gandolfo, an accomplished psychologist in Arizona whose desire to practice her profession was stymied by government bureaucrats.

After Arizona passed the Goldwater Institute’s landmark Breaking Down Barriers to Work law, which allows Arizona residents who hold occupational licenses from other states to receive an Arizona license, Dr. Gandolfo applied to practice psychology in the state, having moved from California where she practiced for 20 years. She met the law’s criteria, but a state board denied her license on several baseless grounds. After the Goldwater Institute took up Dr. Gandolfo’s case and appealed the denial of her license, the board reversed its decision and granted Dr. Gandolfo her license.

But that wasn’t the end of the story. The board retaliated against Dr. Gandolfo by opening an investigation against her for practicing psychology without a license. This week, the board finally closed its complaint, and now Dr. Gandolfo can get back to helping others. But the Goldwater Institute will remain vigilant to protect others’ right to earn a living in Arizona and across the country.

Mississippi Follows Goldwater’s Lead on Breaking Down Barriers to Work

In exciting news out of Mississippi, state lawmakers voted to approve a reform based on the Goldwater Institute’s Breaking Down Barriers to Work Act, which directs a state to recognize the out-of-state qualifications of a licensed worker, eliminating costly and unnecessary bureaucratic delays to work.

Goldwater’s law is a powerful way to help Americans continue working when they move from one state to another. Where one state may require 100 hours of training to do a job, another may need 500, and that state won’t let a newcomer get to work until they’ve checked off the regulatory box. This bureaucratic disconnect forces countless workers to put their careers on hold simply to jump through expensive and time-consuming regulatory hoops. This problem finds a clear solution in Mississippi’s newly passed reform. But Mississippi isn’t alone.

Goldwater first enacted Breaking Down Barriers to Work in Arizona in 2019, and it has already enabled more than 3,000 Arizonans to practice their professions. In fact, our reform has been so successful that we passed it in over a dozen more states in less than two years, and we have introduced it in dozens more states. We’re going to keep working until it’s the law of the land. Read more about Breaking Down Barriers to Work here.

Listen Up! Here’s how gender quota laws harm women

California’s gender quota law harms women by sending them a message that they can’t make it to the boardroom without Big Brother’s help. This week, Goldwater Executive Vice President Christina Sandefur appeared on the nationally syndicated Armstrong & Getty show to talk about the issue. You can listen to the conversation here.