The Columbian | Serving Clark County, Washington

A Republican businessman has announced plans to run for the Legislature in the 17th District, which covers east Vancouver.

Paul Harris, a former Evergreen school board member and self-described “displaced worker,” will run for the open seat currently held by Rep. Deb Wallace, a Vancouver Democrat.

Harris has run for the Legislature twice before, against Wallace in 2006 and against incumbent Rep. Jim Dunn in the 2004 Republican primary. Wallace spent nearly $300,000 in her successful 2006 campaign to defeat him.

He briefly sought appointment to a vacancy on the Vancouver City Council last month, but bowed out after Wallace’s seat opened up, saying in a letter to the council, “I feel my commitment to the community will be better served at the state level.”

Harris, 56, owned his own paint company and later worked for Tacoma-based Parker Paint, but lost that job in a recent downsizing. He plans to enter a new business as a medical supply distributor.

He said his own experience during the recession was a factor in his decision to run again.

“I’m a business guy,” he said. “The way the economy is, I want to make sure Washington stays business-friendly. It seems like the private sector is feeling a lot of pain. They’ve made the cuts. I’m not sure the public sector has made the same kinds of cuts.”

Monica Stonier, an Evergreen Public Schools middle school teacher and a Washington delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, also is seeking Wallace’s seat.

Stonier said she would run a campaign focused on shoring up education and helping families who are struggling as a result of the recession.

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