Biography

Matt Wingard began his career as a television reporter and then served as both a congressional aide and a legislative administrator before starting his own consulting company. He has managed campaigns at the state and federal level, including races for Congress, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Oregon State Legislature.

Matt is a native Oregonian who graduated from Aloha High School. He attended the University of Southern California where he received a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. He spent five years in Central Washington, as a television reporter and congressional aide. At the CBS affiliate (KIMA-TV) in Yakima, Matt covered agriculture, crime and politics. He then joined the office of Congressman Doc Hastings who is currently Chairman of the House Ethics Committee.

Matt returned to Oregon in 2001 and administered the Government Efficiency Committee in the Oregon House for Representative Jerry Krummel. After the session, Matt ran Rob Kremer’s campaign for State Superintendent of Public Instruction—the only campaign he has ever lost. His record as a campaign manager is 4 and 1.

Matt has run his own consulting company for the last four years. His most visible role has been as Executive Director of Oregonians for Jobs and Power. OJP is a broad-based coalition of elected officials, businesses and community leaders that Matt built to support private enterprise in Oregon and defeat efforts to condemn Portland General Electric. In April 2006, OJP won that fight when PGE issued stock and once again became a stand-alone, Oregon-based private company.

Matt is heavily involved in the struggle for public education reform. His clients include two of the largest charter schools in Oregon as well as Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free-market think tank.

Matt’s op-eds have been published in The Washington Times, The Oregonian, The Portland Tribune, The Portland Business Journal, BrainstormNW, and a number of community newspapers.

Matt publishes The Wingard Report, the most popular conservative electronic newsletter in Oregon. He lives in Wilsonville and is the father of Hunter, 12.