Raising rural concerns - a meeting with Gov. Ferguson
Rep. Andrew Engell (R-Colville) represents rural northeast Washington’s 7th Legislative District and wants to be sure rural communities have a voice in state policy. Last week he sat down with Gov. Bob Ferguson to discuss the concerns of his rural district. “Some of these things [we discussed] are politically challenging, some don’t like what looks like being friendly with the enemy. It’s a delicate balance,” said Rep. Engell. “We just want to make sure we have a voice, we want to be heard.”
It's the mission of the WREN to amplify rural voices in the state policy debate. Rep. Engell gave permission to post his notes following the meeting, along with the list of rural concerns he shared with Gov. Ferguson.
Sue Lani Madsen, WREN President
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Rep. Andrew Engell: This weekend I was able to spend 45 minutes one on one with Governor Ferguson in Spokane. We talked about how people in northeast Washington largely feel ignored, trompled on, that our way of life is under attack, and that we are expected to do the bidding of the west coast elites who feel the right to control our region and direct our lives even though they don’t know, understand, or care for us.
I gave him 12 specific examples of things the state has done or is still doing to help him understand why so many people feel this way and offered a few common sense suggestions on how we could work together to build trust and make things better. We also chatted about our children, our backgrounds, and our faith.
We discussed the importance of helping those facing food insecurity and how we individually, as a state, and as advocates to the federal government can help address this challenge. Health care was another big topic. We agree that preserving access to quality medical care is crucial. He asked me to help him advocate for Washington to get our fair share of resources and he even suggested I consider going to DC with him to meet with Dr. Oz. I expressed interest as long as it is to help explain that we have a lot of rural areas in Washington that need to be supported and not as a political trip.
I said if he is sincere about his desire to be the governor of all of Washington that I’d like to help him hear our minority voices, so he can incorporate it into his decision making whenever possible so that our rural communities don’t have to continually fall behind and feel oppressed. I reaffirmed that I’m a solid conservative and we will clearly disagree on many political principles but I hope we can find common ground and be productive for the people and be an example of how representative government should and can work.
I am also committed to being honest and truthful in what I say to the best of my ability, and I said if he can have an open door policy to address claims I hear about him that I will not spread false information and that I will seek to promote truth so we can fight over our actual differences and not over rumors.
I sincerely appreciate the Governor coming to Eastern Washington and being willing to meet with a rural conservative freshman like myself. I hope that this meeting will result in better dialog with the governor and his agencies.
Regardless of what people think about our governor, working with him is the only way to move the needle on state policies and procedures that impact our lives in the 7th legislative district, and I’m going to do whatever I can to fight for what our people need. I’m cautiously optimistic that building relationships with influential Democrats like the Governor can make a difference without having to compromise our values and principles.
Meeting over breakfast at Knight’s Diner, Spokane, November 2025
Gov. Bob Ferguson and Rep. Andrew Engell
Rep. Engell’s list of 12 issues as provided to Gov. Ferguson for consideration:
1) Federal regulations put my farm out of business which got me into politics
-I explained to Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers how this law crushed my dream and she hired me.
2) Wolf management
-Allowing a few activists whose lives aren’t affected by wolves standing in clear opposition to science and forcing us to suffer undermines trust in WDFW’s ability to manage wildlife and fuels bitterness, resentment, and anger.
A representative from the Kalispel Tribe in a recent roundtable with Owen said “To call a species that has completely blanketed the landscape endangered is ludicrous.” and “To have one unmanaged species in an otherwise completely managed ecosystem makes no sense.”
3) Growth Management Act
-Allowing urban special interest groups to dominate rural land use regulations in rural areas has removed the ability of rural counties to allow needed homebuilding and has driven up costs and pushed development into farmland by restricting the ability to cluster homes in a natural way. My experience is that GMA regulations are at odds with its goal in rural areas.
4) Farmers feel Department of Ecology is going after them without good cause
-15 landowners have received potential to pollute letters from Ecology and they largely don’t understand what the issue is or believe that they are doing anything detrimental to the environment.
5) Forcing our childcare centers to close due to lack of college degree
-I talked with three childcare center owners after that law passed who told me there was no way for them to continue in business even though one had been operating a center for 30 years. Now we have a crisis because we drove out many good people trying to fill a need out of business.
6) Firing state employees over COVID vaccine mandates is still a pain point
-I have many friends who were terminated, some had great jobs and now work odd jobs, or are trying to get by on an early retirement, and one now works at the local thrift store. These people have been harmed by state policy, and they will never forget what was done to them and their families.
7) Transportation
-High fuel prices are harmful for people in rural communities who have to drive far.
Complete streets Chewelah DOT’s analysis determined what the city wanted and needed “would be in conflict with the Complete Streets requirement.” This $7 million dollar project will likely make traffic problems worse in Chewelah. In a rural town like Chewelah if they had the local control of money for expensive bicycle and walking paths they wouldn’t put them right next to a busy highway.
When people see high taxes and wasteful spending it builds strong resentment against any new taxes and a lack of trust in the state’s management ability.
8 ) Purchase of a Columbia River Endorsement for salmon and sturgeon in Columbia River was mandated this year with no support from affected districts
-If you fish for these same fish in Puget Sound where all the bill sponsors live there is no extra fee required. There needs to be an understanding of why one group of people is expected to pay a fee imposed by others not affected or it builds resentment.
9) Forcing school boards to adopt the gender inclusive schools model policy 3211 verbatim (which includes “we believe” language) with no changes or face consequences is a problem. -This pits schools against parents and board members and will make it hard to pass levies and bonds in rural areas.
Allowing the state to remove from office members of a legislative body who don’t vote against their community who elected them feels no different to me than if Congress passed and President Trump signed a law to require state legislators to vote in favor of a bill they wrote that said something like “We believe undocumented immigrants are criminals and should be deported.” The higher legislative body should be able to pass laws expecting compliance but shouldn’t require exact language be voted in by another legislative body.
10) The Department of Health banned a particular septic system type
-My Dad is a septic designer, DOH effectively banned the Flout by mandating timed dosing without clearly articulated reasons. My dad believes that the Flout is a superior way to achieve pressure distribution and properly treat wastewater because it is very reliable and doesn’t require electricity. How can people like my dad, who are working hard to feed their families and do what they believe is right, be expected to constantly be on the lookout for having the rug pulled out from under them by regulators? Trust is damaged every time something like this happens.
11) Attacks on hydropower
-Most people who live around dams support them and don’t understand why people from out of the area are trying to remove them. We need the clean, reliable, and affordable power these dams provide.
12) A business in my district is feeling like L&I is trying to shut them down
They feel like an inspector is hunting for frivolous things to pin on them and they don’t understand the issued citations. When people are fined for things they don’t understand it feels unjust and harms trust. When hundreds of jobs in a rural community are threatened it also makes those employees, their families, and the community at large angry at the state.
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If you have other rural concerns the WREN should be tracking or stories to share, send your comments to contact@wrensong.org and subscribe to our network. WrenSong is available as a platform to highlight YOUR rural stories. The WREN is dedicated to better decision-making in state policy to support healthy rural communities and reduce negative impacts by amplifying the voice of rural Washingtonians.
