Paul Evans is a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 20, which includes Monmouth, Independence, and portions of South and West Salem. Born in Salem, Oregon, to Butch and Chloe Evans and raised in Monmouth, he graduated from Central High School in Independence in 1988. At age 18, he was elected to the Monmouth City Council, becoming one of the youngest elected leaders in the nation, and later served as Mayor in 1998. Following a family tradition, he joined the volunteer fire department with Polk County Fire District #1. Evans enlisted in the United States Air Force after college, served as a Master Air Battle Manager, and later joined the Oregon Air National Guard in 1997. He worked in private sector roles focused on emergency resilience, product development, and international sales, and served as a senior policy advisor to Governor Ted Kulongoski on emergency management, military, and veterans' affairs. He has taught speech communication at Chemeketa Community College since 2013 and previously at Western Oregon University and Oregon State University. First elected in 2014 and sworn in January 2015, he has been re-elected in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024, currently in his sixth term. He filed for the 2026 Primary Election.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Public Policy and Administration from Western Oregon State College , 1992.
• Political Experience: Elected to Oregon House District 20 ; Monmouth City Councilor ; Mayor of Monmouth ; Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Ted Kulongoski .
• Notable Positions and Achievements: Assistant Majority Leader, House Democratic Caucus; Co-Chair, Oregon Veterans Caucus ; Chair, House Special Committee on Wildfire Recovery ; Co-Chair, Public Safety Subcommittee, Joint Committee on Ways & Means ; Chair, House Committee on Veterans and Emergency Preparedness ; Co-Chief Sponsor of House Joint Resolution 202B , approved by 83% of voters to dedicate 1.5% of lottery revenues to veterans' services; championed over 20 bills signed into law; serves on committees including Joint Transportation and Economic Development, Joint Ways and Means Public Safety Subcommittee, Emergency Management, General Government and Veterans; House-appointed roles include Oregon Homeland Security Council, Oregon Public Defense Commission , Oregon State Capitol Foundation. Priority issues: education, emergency preparedness, small business resilience, transportation, veteran services, workplace fairness.