It’s been a busy week for the newest member of the House of Representatives from the 17th Legislative District. Rep. Monica Stonier (D-Vancouver) was officially sworn into her new role on Monday. After a week of House orientation and getting moved in to her new office, she’s ready to get to work.
“Legislators make the best decisions they can with the information they have at the time,” said Stonier. “But sometimes their policy decisions can miss the mark. As someone who’s in the classroom every day, I want to bring that perspective to the conversations we have around improving our schools and leading our students to success.”
A wife and mother of two young children, Monica earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Washington University and her master’s degree from Washington State University Vancouver.
She’s an instructional coach at Pacific Middle School in Vancouver. Her desire to improve the public education system is one of the reasons she decided to run for office.
With her strong background in education, Monica earned a spot as vice chair of the House Education committee. She also earned seats on the Technology and Economic Development Committee and the Capital Budget Committee where she plans to work on legislation that will create jobs and grow the economy, especially for high unemployment areas like Clark County.
Monica was profiled on TVW’s The Impact and shared what it’s like being a new lawmaker in the House. She was also interview for the HDC’s Capitol Ideas podcast which you can listen to here. Monica will be sending out regular email updates from Olympia as work progresses at the Capitol. If you want to stay in contact with Monica, you can sign up for her e-newsletter list.
Monica appreciates hearing from her neighbors in the 17th District.
“The best part of my job is listening,” said Stonier. “Strong representative government requires two-way dialogue. I want to hear your stories. Send me an email, call my office, or let’s meet to share ideas on how to improve our community.”