Open 17th District seat draws three to contest

When state Rep. Deb Wallace decided to run for Congress last December, she also made a quiet decision not to defend her 17th District seat in 2010 regardless of how her congressional race turned out. That created an open seat in the 17th, a swing district that covers Vancouver east of I-205 and south of 119th Street.

Paul Harris, Republican

o Age: 57.

o Residence: Vancouver.

o Occupation: Businessman.

o Political background: Ran unsuccessfully for 17th District seat in 2004 and 2006.

o Campaign funds raised: $21,615.

o Quote: “I’m a business guy. The way the economy is, I want to make sure Washington stays business-friendly.”

o Campaign website: www.electharris.com.

Martin Hash, Democrat

o Age: 52.

o Residence: Vancouver.

o Occupation: Animation software developer.

o Political background: Briefly a candidate for state Senate in 17th District in 2008.

o Campaign funds raised: Less than $5,000.

o Quote: “I’m definitely a liberal Democrat. You can be a liberal and still believe that the individual comes before the group.”

o Campaign website: www.martinhash.com.

Monica Stonier, Democrat

o Age: 33.

o Residence: Vancouver.

o Occupation: Middle school teacher.

o Political background: Democratic delegate to 2008 Democratic National Convention.

o Campaign funds raised: $28,816.

o Quote: “Being a strong voice for teachers is absolutely a priority for me.”

o Campaign website: www.electmonicastonier.com.

Wallace endorsed Monica Stonier, a Pacific Middle School teacher who is active in the Washington Education Association and the Democratic Party. A precinct committee officer who is also the union representative for her school, Stonier represented Clark County as a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

In addition, she has won the endorsement of Democratic Rep. Tim Probst, the other House member representing the 17th District.

Two other candidates are seeking the open 17th District seat: Vancouver businessman Paul Harris, a Republican and a former Evergreen School Board member who ran against Wallace in 2006, and Martin Hash, a Democratic entrepreneur who made a brief run for the state Senate against Republican Sen. Don Benton in 2008. Hash is self-funding his 2010 campaign.

On the issues

Stonier, who teaches language arts and social studies at Pacific Middle School, says she is running to shore up education and help families who are struggling as a result of the recession. She says she would be a strong advocate for teachers and quality instruction if elected but would not be a mouthpiece for the WEA.

“I got involved in the union because I felt there were teachers in my building whose voices were not being heard,” she said. But as a legislator, she said, she’d base her votes on what is best for students, not on the WEA’s legislative agenda.

Stonier believes some of the expensive new requirements placed on Washington teachers are unnecessary.

“If you have a teacher who is effective, who brings critical thinking to the classroom, the state should not require that teacher to go back and get professional certification,” she said.

She also believes school principals should have more power to help improve instruction in their buildings.

On that, and on little else, she and Harris agree.

“I believe one solution to the state budget crisis is to take a hard look at union contracts,” Harris says.

He’s also concerned about the cost of administrative overhead. At Mountain View High School in the Evergreen district, he said, the number of administrators has not gone down in recent years even though enrollment has plummeted from 2,400 to 1,300 students.

“When we reduce enrollment, we need to reduce administration,” Harris said. “I think it is going to be difficult for someone who is tied to the union to make those cuts.”

Harris and Stonier also disagree on whether Washington schools are underfunded.

The state budget deficit is hurting education, Stonier said. “We’ve had some schools with new construction that went to portables the next year,” she said. “We are still scraping by. I still have too many kids in my classes. Our funds for education come from timber and the lottery, and those sources fluctuate wildly.”

Harris disagrees, and he definitely does think the state is in for some belt-tightening.

“We’re going to have to cut the budget and cut people in jobs that we don’t need,” he said. “Education knows how to grow but doesn’t know how to retract. We’re going to have to cut social services and public safety too. Do I want to do that? No.”

He had to make similar tough decisions in his own construction-related business, he says on his campaign website. “I was forced to let employees go that had worked with me for over 10 years. It was painfully difficult but unavoidable.”

Harris opposed the 2010 Legislature’s vote to suspend a voter-approved measure requiring a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate before lawmakers can raise state taxes. He vows to be accountable to the voters and not to bow to special interests.

A budget suggestion

Hash has a more radical solution to the state’s deficit dilemma. He thinks Washington should amend its constitution to allow the state to run a deficit.

“We should run a deficit,” he said. If the state insists on balancing its budget even in times of declining revenue, as its constitution currently requires, “then draconian program cuts and tax increases are going to have to follow, and that’s not something I want,” he said.

In general, Hash says, he’s pleased with the quality of the education his three children received in local schools and at Washington State University Vancouver.

As for asking teachers and other public employees to make wage concessions, he says, “You can’t have a rational discussion with someone who is about to lose their job.”

Hash has been involved in local Democratic politics since 2008, when he briefly campaigned against Republican state Sen. Don Benton before withdrawing in favor of economics teacher David Carrier.

But his background is something different for a legislative candidate.

He made his fortune developing 3-D animation software that is widely used in schools, and last year released a feature-length animated move, “Tin Woodman of Oz.”

In 2000, Hash bought the city of Vancouver’s beleaguered Columbia Arts Center for $750,000, hoping to spark a creative arts renaissance by making space available at low cost to theater companies and other arts organizations. But he sold the building in 2007 after lease revenue failed to cover even the company’s own overhead and personnel costs.

His impressive educational credentials include a law degree, a Ph.D. in engineering, a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA. He’s a patent agent and a general contractor. “I can have a conversation with anyone about anything,” he said.

Hash and his wife spent last year backpacking through Africa, “where people have nothing — less than nothing,” he said.

When asked how he would put his background to work in Olympia, he said, “When I get there, I’ll just do what I’m doing now. I’ll see what the state needs.”

In the meantime, he said, “My political strategy is to see how this primary goes. Is the entire political process controlled by special interests?”

If he doesn’t finish in the top two in the Aug. 17 primary, Hash said he’ll back Stonier “100 percent.” But that doesn’t mean he’ll give up on electoral politics.

In 2008, after he withdrew from the state Senate race, he made a vow: “I’ll be running every two years until I get a seat.”