There's less than a month before the Aug. 6 primary election and a handful of races in the Inland Northwest do not have an incumbent running, leaving room for fresh faces in the Legislature. That's the case in Washington's Legislative District 7, which encompasses a huge portion of the state's northeast corner.
In February, state Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber, R-Republic, announced she would not seek reelection to her District 7 seat in order to run for the spot in Congress that U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is vacating. Shortly after Maycumber's announcement, state Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, revealed that he would be retiring after 20 years representing the 7th District.
Now, three candidates — Teagan Levine, Andrew Engell and Soo Ing-Moody — hope to fill Maycumber's seat, while four — Ronald McCoy, Hunter Abell, Pat Bell and Paul "Rocky" Dean — are on the ballot for Kretz's seat. Only the top two vote-getters in each race will advance past the primary.
Compared to many other legislative districts in the state, District 7 is enormous. It encompasses a small part of Spokane County, along with Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry and Okanogan counties — representing the towns of Chewelah, Colville, Newport and Deer Park. Due to recent redistricting, District 7 also covers more of Douglas and Chelan counties than before, with about 7,000 new voters in Douglas and about 2,000 in Chelan, the Washington State Standard reported.
While each of the state's legislative districts has approximately the same population, legislating across such a large area can seem complicated. However, candidates have found that many of the district's top issues are shared regionwide.
"It's about the size of Poland," Abell says of the district's size. "But there's a number of issues that apply to most of the district, regardless of political affiliation."
"What I'm finding is that the issues across the district are similar," Engell says. "[Voters are] concerned about high cost of living, issues facing agriculture, public safety and a general disillusionment with state government."
'EXPERIENCE MATTERS'
All three of the candidates in the race for Maycumber's Position 1 seat are Republicans with largely the same goal of protecting the "way of life" in the district. They're separated by their experience, according to Engell and Ing-Moody.Ing-Moody was elected to the Twisp Town Council in 2010 and appointed about nine months later to be the town's fourth mayor in two years. At the time, she was tasked with filling three key vacancies at City Hall: police chief, public works director and treasurer.
She went on to be elected for three terms as mayor before deciding not to run again in 2023. Her other experience includes serving as the president of the Association of Washington Cities, a nonprofit that represents the state's towns and cities before the Legislature, and she helped start the Okanogan Council of Governments, a voluntary alliance of governments across Washington's Okanogan region.
"I ask that people look at this as a job, and an important one at that," she says about the role of legislator. "Experience matters."
Meanwhile, Engell's only elected experience has been as a Republican precinct committee officer in Colville. However, he's worked as a deputy district director for McMorris Rodgers for the past seven years.
"I have the most experience working with diverse people across 12 counties with Cathy McMorris Rodgers," he says. "I've done her case work and constituent work, and I've worked with state legislators within the congressional district, too."
The third candidate, Levine, has served as a Tonasket City Council member since 2017 and was previously a three-term chairwoman for the Okanogan County Republican Party. Additionally, she has worked with Let's Go Washington, the group behind the six citizen-backed initiatives — largely focused on what supporters feel is excessive taxation by the state — that went to the Legislature earlier this year.
Levine did not respond to multiple Inlander requests for an interview before our Tuesday, July 9, deadline.
'A CLEAR CHOICE'
The race for Kretz's Position 2 seat is shaping up to be competitive, with two candidates endorsed by the Spokane County Republican Party and another candidate who is running as the sole Democrat in the District 7 races.McCoy, who is the only Republican in this race without a major partisan endorsement, is serving his first term on the Chewelah City Council. However, the retired Navy veteran also served as Chewelah mayor for one term from 1998-2002.
"We're all good candidates, but what separates us is our backgrounds," he says. "I'm not saying one candidate is better than the next."
Much like Engell in the other race, Abell's only elected experience has been as a Republican precinct committee officer in Colville, but he believes his background in the law stands out.
"I am the only candidate with experience in the criminal justice system," Abell says. "I think there is a clear choice in this election."
Abell has worked as an attorney in Ferry County and was appointed as a Ferry County District Court judge for a short period. Abell is also current president of the Washington State Bar Association, which has its headquarters in Seattle.
Bell is the communications director for Spokane County. He believes his communications experience and his eight years working for McMorris Rodgers will help him get elected. Bell was endorsed by McMorris Rodgers, and along with Abell, he received an endorsement from the Spokane County Republican Party.
"I haven't seen a strong platform from all the other candidates," Bell says. "I have heard a desire to serve, but when it comes down to experience and the type of person who voters want to represent the district, I'm the best choice."
The final candidate in this race is Dean, who identifies as a moderate Democrat. He's served as a Springdale Town Council member since 2020 and served 26 years in the Army.
"I'm not a politician, but I know how to reach across the aisle to work with everyone," he says.
All six candidates interviewed across both races said they would work for bipartisan solutions in state government if elected — a skill that will be needed for any Republican candidate if the state Legislature maintains its Democratic majority.
PUBLIC SAFETY & AGRICULTURE
In terms of issues the candidates hope to address if elected, public safety takes the top spot. Between the ever-present threat of wildlife predators, the overwhelmed law enforcement field, and the fentanyl crisis, there's much work to be done."We need to get a hold on fentanyl that is ravaging families in the 7th, killing the weakest among us," Abell says. "There are some things that the Legislature could do, like adding funding for the drug task force."
Abell says that he would also like to see more money going toward drug court programs, which he has overseen personally.
Bell says the central issue outside violent crime is wildlife predators, such as grizzly bears, cougars and gray wolves endangering livestock. Plus, these predators have driven other animals such as deer and elk onto agricultural land causing it to be overgrazed, he says. He thinks the issue has only been compounded by the general feeling among constituents that the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is there to protect the predators, not the people.
"When there is a predator attack we need universal support to have some kind of predator alert system," Bell says. "It's a real concern, people are fearful that they might be attacked."
While Dean thinks some type of alert system would be greatly beneficial to the 7th District, he hopes to find a way for humans and predators to coexist.
"We really need to find better ways to deal with these predators. With more people moving into the animals' habitat, the animals are actually the victims here," Dean says. "However, I think ranchers are entitled to quickly responsive reimbursement for herd losses."
Many candidates are also concerned about the district's agricultural needs. Ing-Moody says much of the district's economy is dependent on agriculture, effectively intertwining the two topics.
"We all share an appreciation for the outdoors we live in," she says. "But we need good policies moving forward to protect all the things we cherish about the area where we live."
McCoy mirrored what Ing-Moody said about agriculture even though they're running in different races. However, neither candidate identified any specific policy ideas they have or existing proposals that they plan to support.
"Most of our upper north end is very agricultural, I plan on continuing to protect our farmers, cattlemen and our orchards," McCoy says. "I'm not knocking tourism, but we have a way of life, and I want to protect that."
PROTECTING RURAL LIFE
While each candidate differed on the top issues facing the 7th District, they all claimed that they would protect the rural way of life. Who are they protecting it from? The Legislature's urbanized majority."The majority party is overwhelmingly from the urban parts of the state," Engell explains. "So [7th District voters] feel disenfranchised by what goes on in Olympia ... a lot of things that are talked about as one size fits all, but don't work for our rural areas."
Ing-Moody says that being a strong, fiscal conservative voice in Olympia would help alleviate those issues where voters feel they're not being represented properly. While her opinion aligns with Engell's, she says that her priorities are in Olympia, not D.C. — referring to Engell's experience working for a congressional representative.
"I'll focus on the people and less about what's happening in D.C.," she says. "I know statewide policies that most affect us in the 7th, and if I'm elected I would find great joy to be a strong voice and have strong policies for our families moving into the future." ♦
Primary election day is Tuesday, Aug. 6.
