Paul
Harris
WA State Senate District 17 (R)
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Meet
Paul Harris
Paul has been honored to represent the people of the 17th district for the last 14 years. His family has lived in this district for more than 45 years. Paul has five children who all graduated from Mt. View High School in the Evergreen school district. For over a decade, Paul served on the Evergreen School Board while his wife, Lori, worked as a dance team coach at Mt. View High School. Paul and Lori’s kids have grown up and made them the proud grandparents to 9 grandchildren.
Paul Harris
On The Issues
Providing Quality Education
Our education system needs improvement. Despite receiving more funding, our test scores continue to lag. We spend $18,000 per student in public school every year, which is the 3rd most in the nation. Still, only 40% of students meet math and science standards and 50% meet English language standards. We need to create solutions that help students succeed in and outside of the classroom. Paul is an advocate for transparency in our school system. He supports requiring teachers to put all primary educational materials on the district website and voted to record school board meetings so parents can go back and listen to them.
Protecting Our Environment
Paul believes in climate change but worries the Climate Commitment Act does not do what it promised. Instead of moving the needle on climate change, it is driving up prices at the pump and causing home energy costs to skyrocket. Paul believes we need real, global solutions to create effective solutions to climate change without hurting everyday people. Current policies hurt low-income families and do nothing to stop carbon emissions from foreign countries from affecting Washington’s air quality.
Preventing Income Taxes
Despite repeated efforts to stop a state income tax, Olympia Democrats are pushing for one. This time, they have proposed lowering the capital gains income tax from $250,000 to $15,000 which will affect everyone, not just the wealthy. Paul will oppose implementing any income tax, no matter how they try and disguise it.
Improving Long-Term Care
Paul knows our existing state-run long-term care program is flawed, and he wants to fix it. Currently, it forces people to pay into the program, even if they will never benefit from it. This is the wrong approach. Paul supports making the program optional, so people can find real care that works for them.
Stopping Illegal Drugs
Fentanyl is crossing our borders at alarming rates. Once a person is hooked, it is easy and cheap to get your hands on. Sustained drug abuse can create paranoia, mental health issues, and huge safety risks. Paul will work hard to create solutions to the fentanyl crisis and equip police with the tools they need to stop the flow of illegal drugs.
Improving Infrastructure
Our community has many bridges that are critical to local businesses and safety. Paul will secure state funding for The West Camas Slough Bridge, The Hood River Bridge, and The Bridge of the Gods. Paul is also on the commission to protect our resources and infrastructure.
Protecting Women’s Rights
Washington voters have overwhelmingly supported a woman’s right to choose. Instead of politicizing it, the majority party could have made this law in our state constitution. Paul will never change a voter approved initiative without a vote of the people.
Click Here to Hear From Paul on This Issue
Supporting Law Enforcement
Paul knows that to keep our families safe, we need to be providing MORE funding to police officers on the street, not defunding them. Washington ranks last in the Nation in officers per capita. But Paul supported retention and signing bonuses for officers and additional training, so that we can restore balance to our criminal justice system.
