Draft:Brian Heywood

Brian Heywood is an American hedge fund manager, farmer, and conservative activist from Redmond, Washington.

In 2022, Heywood founded Let's Go Washington, a political action committee formed to sponsor six initiatives in Washington filed by state representative Jim Walsh targeting the November 5, 2024, ballot. Three of six initiatives have been approved by the state legislature as of 2024. He was named "the most consequential figure in Washington politics" by the Seattle Times.

Heywood's most prominent ballot measures include Initiative 2111, which prohibited "state and local governments from imposing taxes on income," Initiative 2081, which "let parents of public-school children review student records, including disciplinary and health information, and curricula, and to allow parents to opt children out of sex education," and Initiative 2113, which "loosened some restrictions on when law enforcement officers can engage in vehicle pursuits.

Early life and education
Heywood was born and raised in Arizona and grew up attending the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had an impoverished upbringing and has consistently cited this as his reason for his conservative beliefs. He served as a missionary in Japan before graduating from Harvard University in 1991 with an honors degree in East Asian Studies.