By Sue Lani Madsen | The Center Square Contributor

Andrew Engell had no plans to seek elected office until the hotly contested 5th U.S. Congressional District race opened a seat in the legislature. Engell is running for the position in Washington’s 7th Legislative District currently held by Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber, R-Republic, who is running for Congress.

A Stevens County resident for more than 30 years, Engell is currently working as deputy district director for Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who unexpectedly announced her intention to retire at the end of her term.

“People may be surprised to hear my hardline conservative views as a candidate. That wasn’t appropriate when I was a staffer,” Engell said. “My job was to listen. And what I hear from people is they are tired of being trampled and ignored. People in rural Washington say they feel like rural areas are being treated like parks serving the urban areas.”

Engell looks forward to the opportunity to advocate for his neighbors in a new political arena.

“You have a lot more opportunity to have an impact in Olympia than in Congress,” he observed.

It was starting his first small business at 19 that introduced him to the challenges of being an entrepreneur.

“We need some regulation, but a lot of the regulatory complexity has very little value in protecting our rights and comes at a very big cost,” said Engell. “The people who used to start small businesses and are self-employed, those are the people who are getting pushed out and squished the most.”

Engell came to Stevens County as a child after his parents sold their business on the west side of the state and moved the family to northeast Washington. Engell served on the Addy Fire Department for 14 years as a firefighter/EMT, seven years on the Stevens County Farm Bureau board, and currently is serving as president of the Colville Rotary Club.

He and his wife, Celeste, have four children.