Washington Business Spring 2018 | Washington Business | Page 24

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You have announced your retirement from the
U.S. House after your current term in office is
complete. What advice would you give to the
person that fills your seat?
Top of the list: you have to listen to people, not just listen
to the party you happen to be a member of. You are a
representative of all the people in your district, not just
Republicans, not just Democrats. When you focus on
servanthood, you’re not focused on the party. Coming
from a law enforcement background, people didn’t ask
me when I came to their door whether I was a Democrat
deputy or a Republican deputy. They just wanted a
deputy. When I was a sheriff, I was a non-partisan sheriff.
So, when I came into this job, it was a change for some of
the staff that had worked with other members within the
Republican Party when I said, “Look, we’re meeting with
everybody. We’re not just going to meet with Republicans,
but we’re meeting with everybody, so we hear all sides
of an issue.” That’s the only way I know how to make
an informed decision. I’d also tell them to work with the
other side and be bipartisan.
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What’s next for you?
I look back and see the way God has worked in my life. I’ve never
had a plan. God has just opened doors of opportunity and given me
courage and determination. I have faith that God is with me and has
planned my life for me. I was No. 82 out of 110 people hired in the
sheriff’s office because my test scores were very low. I’m dyslexic.
Again, I come from a home where I ran away, barely graduated
from high school because I’m living out of a car my senior year and
just trying to survive. I think it makes you stronger. It makes you
appreciate the struggles that other people go through and it gives
you that drive and desire to stay focused. Being in Congress was
never in my playbook. It was not part of my professional plan. So,
what’s coming for me in the future, I truly don’t know. People don’t
believe me when I say that. But, look, I interviewed Gary Ridgway
on Dec. 31, 2003, for an hour. I walked out of there — he was sent
off to prison and the case was closed — thinking, “what am I going
to do now?” It was maybe eight weeks later that Jennifer Dunn, who
held the [congressional] seat before me, called and said, “I’m going
to announce my retirement and I’d like you to think about running
for the seat. People know you and like you and you have that desire
to serve.” That’s how I ended up in Congress. So, the next job, I feel,
will come about the same way. A door will open.