MOSES LAKE - Thirteenth District Democrats recently selected Kaj Selmann as their official candidate for 13th Legislative District representative, position 2.

The seat is being vacated by current Representative Bill Hinkle, who isn't seeking re-election this fall after a decade representing the 13th District, which spans Kittitas, Grant and upper Yakima counties.

Selmann, a 38-year-old Moses Lake contractor and small business owner, announced his candidacy in February. He is competing with Republican Mathew Manweller, 41, who is the Kittitas County GOP chairman and a Central Washington University political science professor.

Selmann's Democratic party endorsement came during a reorganization meeting of the Washington State Legislative District 13 Democrats, which took place last Wednesday at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

He said he chose to run as a Democrat because the party supports policies that create "real economic growth and prosperity" in the district.

"I looked at companies like REC, Moses Lake Industries and Katana, who are solar and wind suppliers and manufacturers," Selmann stated. "Democrats support these industries while Republican leadership mocks them."

Selmann pointed to Takata, an auto industry supplier with operations in Moses Lake he said might have lost dozens of family-wage jobs if it weren't for Democrat support of public investment in the auto industry.

"Democrats stepped in and had those families' backs," he stated. "Republican leadership would have sacrificed those jobs to make an ideological point. For me, ideology needs to take a back seat to the practical needs of our district. I think about what our region might look like without the Democrat-supported projects like the Columbia Basin Irrigation District or hydroelectric power generation."

Dwight Pelz, chairman of the Washington State Democrats, joined other party members last week in pledging financial support to Selmann, who is a 20-year resident of the 13th District and has lived in Moses Lake with his wife, Jo Anne, and their three children since 1999.

Other business conducted at the meeting included adoption of local party by-laws and officer selection. The new officers of the Washington State Legislative District 13 Democrats include chairman Kent Verbeck, vice-chairwoman Carolyn Duvall and secretary Linda Price, who also chairs the Grant County Democrats.