James Etzkorn

James Etzkorn was born in Vancouver, Washington. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington in 2007 and a master's degree in nanotechnology from the National Institute of Applied Sciences in 2011. His career experience includes working as an electrical engineer.[1]

In March 2023, Etzkorn was appointed to serve on the Monroe School District Board.[2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am not a career politician looking for a promotion. I am an engineer, a father and a problem-solver who is frustrated.

I'm a 5th generation Washingtonian with an Electrical Engineering degree from UW and a Master's in Nanotechnology. With over a decade in tech and 50+ patents, I know how to build solutions. I am deeply committed to our community, having started the Monroe High School robotics team and currently serving on the Monroe School Board.

I govern much like I run engineering projects. I use data to make decisions and focus on outcomes. Too often, politicians declare victory by throwing money at a problem, feeding a bureaucratic machine of consultants and lawyers rather than delivering results.

We must break the cycle. We keep ping-ponging between Democratic and Republican control, expecting a different outcome. This constant swinging is a symptom of a broken system. Our quality of life is eroding while we bounce between the same two options.

We cannot run a 21st-century economy with leadership stuck in the 20th century. As a new technological revolution unfolds, our leaders are making rules for systems they do not understand. We need a representative who understands the risks well enough to harness the benefits.

I am running as an Independent because I don't answer to party bosses. I answer to you. Career politicians are afraid of losing their jobs. I am afraid of losing our country.

The future doesn't just happen. The future is built.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Strip the Bureaucracy

Over a third of Congress are lawyers and only a handful are engineers. No wonder we have replaced legislation with litigation.

Polarization has left Congress incapable of passing substantive laws, forcing them to abuse the tax code to steer industry. This bypasses the hard work of budgeting and adds layers of bureaucracy that distort original goals.

Time is of the essence. We need leaders who understand that complexity is a tax. We must enforce accountability to measure results, not dollars spent.

I will fight for direct funding and align incentives with outcomes. By stripping away this friction, we eliminate the waste and fraud that thrive in complexity.Engineer AbundanceOur nation was once defined by its capacity to build. Today, we are defined by red tape. China completes the project while we're still reviewing the permit.20th-century leaders created an economy of scarcity, driving up costs for housing, healthcare and energy.We must trigger an economic flywheel. By incentivizing tech giants to build power generation for their data centers, we expand the grid. This abundant energy makes advanced manufacturing feasible in America, restoring the middle class through production, not subsidies. When companies compete for our labor, wages go up like we saw in 2021.Government must set strategic incentives to harness market efficiency. By rewarding outcomes, we replace bureaucracy with abundance.Confront the Debt Low interest rates masked our debt for years. That era is over. We now pay over $1 trillion annually in interest, surpassing defense and Medicare.Ignoring this guarantees a future of rampant inflation, crushing tax hikes and deep spending cuts to the safety net that will destabilize our society.We cannot tax or cut our way out of this mess. The math doesn't work. The only palatable solution is to Modernize Government and Grow Real Wages.Status-quo politicians won't fix this. They have had decades to solve these problems and have only made them worse. They are content to manage the decline. I am running to engineer a recovery.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about restoring legislative accountability. Congress has abdicated its Constitutional duty to unelected bureaucrats. Instead of writing specific laws, they pass vague mandates and allow federal agencies to fill in the blanks.

Furthermore, Congress funds too many programs through tax breaks rather than the annual budget. Congress bypasses the debate, compromise and prioritization that the governing requires. This shadow spending lacks checks and balances, fueling our ballooning debt.

Congress must write specific laws, not vague mandates. We must replace opaque spending with transparent, results-based incentives that eliminate the middleman. We should reward outcomes, not the lobbyists who wrote the loophole.

Campaign websiteEtzkorn's campaign website stated the following:Modernize GovernmentShrink the BureaucracyGovernment runs on process. It needs to run on outcomes.Over a third of Congress are lawyers while only a handful are engineers. No wonder we have replaced legislation with litigation.Politicians abuse the tax code to hide spending, bypassing the hard work of compromise and prioritization that an annual budget requires.We need leaders who understand that complexity is a tax. I will fight to strip this friction and force the government to measure results, not dollars spent.It is time to reward outcomes, not the lobbyists who wrote the loophole.Save Our FutureOutgrow the DebtLow interest rates masked our debt for years. That era is over.We now pay over $1 trillion annually in interest on the nearly $40 trillion debt. That is more than we spend on National Defense. Interest payments are expected to double over the next decade, forcing deep cuts to the safety net that will destabilize our society.Ignoring the debt guarantees rampant inflation, crushing tax hikes and growing civil unrest.Simultaneously, the clock is running out on Social Security. The trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2032, forcing automatic cuts to seniors' benefits.We cannot solely tax or cut our way to solvency. The math doesn't work.The only solution is to grow our way out. Status-quo politicians won't fix this. They have had decades to solve these problems and have only made them worse. They are content to manage the decline.Growth isn’t just a goal. It’s our only exit strategy.Grow Real WagesFight Higher CostsOur nation was once defined by its capacity to build. Today, we are defined by red tape. China completes the project while we’re still reviewing the permit.We have traded an economy of production for an economy of permission, choosing to manage decline rather than engineer growth.20th-century leaders created an economy of scarcity, driving up costs for housing, healthcare and energy. We need new leaders who understand how to incentivize economic growth to help working families.We must trigger an economic flywheel. For example, by investing in infrastructure while also incentivizing tech giants to build power generation for their data centers, we expand the grid without raising taxes. This abundant energy combined with the technological boom makes advanced manufacturing feasible in America, restoring the middle class through production, not subsidies. This isn't about enriching the few. It’s about rebuilding the working class by fighting higher costs and growing real wages through competition. I’m not calling for unfettered markets of the past. Government must lay the rules of the road and set strategic incentives to harness the efficiency of the market.By rewarding outcomes, we replace bureaucracy with abundance.— James Etzkorn's campaign website (July 22, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.