44th Legislative District

Sen. Patty Murray has been a consistent and strong progressive voice in the U.S. Senate. She's seeking re-election to continue fighting for our basic rights and a better quality of life in Washington and beyond.

Murray was first elected in 1992 and has been a champion for veterans, working families, women, and economic opportunities for all. Before her tenure in the Senate, Murray worked as a preschool teacher, on the Shoreline School Board, and in the Washington state Senate.

During her time in Congress, Sen. Murray has worked hard to keep our communities safe from gun violence, protect abortion access at the federal level so that everyone has reproductive freedom, and expand access to affordable childcare. This year, she voted in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, and a slate of other progressive bills that invest in working communities so that our country is a place where everyone can thrive. Murray has earned an impressive and diverse coalition of endorsements from local and national organizations, elected leaders, and unions.

Sen. Murray faces Tiffany Smiley, a triage nurse running on a MAGA Republican platform. Smiley has never held public office but she previously worked on Capitol Hill. Her Trump-inspired agenda aims to divide us while she seeks to cut funding from our most essential services and repurpose it for a needless border wall and more militarized police forces. Working Washingtonians need real solutions so that we can access the basics like gas, groceries, rent, and prescription medicine – not MAGA rhetoric and tax breaks for the wealthy.

Sen. Patty Murray is a national leader on many of the most important issues facing our country. She has earned your vote for re-election.

Rep. Suzan DelBene is running for re-election to the U.S. House representing Washington’s 1st Congressional District. Since first being elected in 2012, DelBene has been a champion for working families, small businesses, and data privacy and consumer protections. This year, she served as the chair of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, a 98-member congressional caucus that seeks to find solutions that bring Democrats and Republicans together. She brings private sector experience from her background in tech, working at Microsoft early on and then leading a number of local startups.

DelBene has been a staunch advocate for bills to help Washingtonians and the rest of our country afford stable housing, find family-wage jobs, and access quality health care. She has leveraged her tech background to balance consumer rights with innovation to create protections that benefit us all. DelBene played a key role in passing the Child Tax Credit and is leading efforts to expand it going forward in order to reduce child poverty across the country. She also recently supported the bipartisan infrastructure law which sent federal funding to Washington to upgrade public roads, ports, broadband, and more. Now, she is running to keep protecting Social Security, Medicare, reproductive freedom, and community investments that help Americans afford the basics.

Mill Creek City Council member and sheriff deputy Vincent Cavaleri is challenging DelBene in this race. He wants to expand militarized police forces and send more people to Washington’s expensive and overpopulated prisons. Instead of Cavaleri's failed positions, we need greater investments in community solutions that compassionately address addiction, housing insecurity, and mental health so that we can all thrive.

DelBene is a pragmatic and hardworking Democratic leader who will continue to make progress at the federal level if she is re-elected. She deserves your vote to represent Washington’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Rick Larsen is a moderate Democrat who is seeking his eleventh term representing Washington's 2nd Congressional District. Before serving in Congress, he served on the Snohomish County Council and worked on economic development for the City of Everett.

Larsen has been a reliable vote on House Democrats' priorities. Since his last election, he voted for both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Build Back Better, President Biden's more ambitious effort to fund clean energy, child tax credits, and other progressive priorities. In past years, Larsen supported the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to give Medicare the power to negotiate directly with the drug companies and pass on the lower drug prices to all Americans. He also voted for the Voting Rights Advancement Act, supported the coronavirus pandemic relief packages, and sought to reform student loans.

Republican Dan Matthews, a veteran and retired commercial airline pilot, is challenging incumbent Larsen in this race. Matthews lists dozens of "areas of concern" on his website with an invitation to "let the dialogue begin" but does not list any actual policy positions. However, some of the topics he lists are consistent with the MAGA Republican agenda we see across the country this year including dangerous rhetoric about voter fraud and border policies that echo Trump's 2016 talking points.

Larsen is the clear choice for Congress from Washington's 2nd Congressional District.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is running as an independent to bring a non-partisan voice to the secretary of state's office. Anderson served on the Tacoma City Council before running for county auditor in 2009 and winning re-election three times. As Pierce County auditor, which is a nonpartisan position, she has administered dozens of elections while also overseeing licensing and public record-keeping.

Anderson is running because she believes political parties shouldn't be involved in running elections they are simultaneously trying to win. Her campaign priorities include supporting more local races becoming non-partisan, increasing access to voting and election information, and improving election security. She wants to translate the voters' pamphlet into 10 languages, going beyond what is mandated by the Voting Rights Act. She also wants to conduct risk-limiting audits in all 39 Washington counties and "pre-bunk" rumors to increase confidence in our state's election systems.

During our interview, Anderson expressed support for ranked choice voting because she believes it will allow candidates to break through our two-party political system. This is one of the biggest points of difference between Anderson and Hobbs.

Anderson offers voters an experienced option if they are looking for a nonpartisan administrator to manage our state's elections and support ranked choice voting.

John Lovick is running to retain the 44th Legislative District Senate seat. Lovick is a former Snohomish County executive and Mill Creek City Council member, and he served as the House speaker pro tem for five years. In late 2021, he was appointed by the Snohomish County Council to this seat when incumbent Sen. Steve Hobbs was named secretary of state.

During his time in the Legislature, Lovick has been a strong supporter of unions and working people. In the Senate, Lovick wrote a bill to reduce drunk driving crashes by lowering the allowable legal blood alcohol limit. He also sponsored the successful paid family and medical leave act, as well as legislation to keep our communities safe from gun violence. By sponsoring the historic transportation bill this year, Lovick has invested in not only road maintenance but also transit, ferries, sidewalks, and more, supporting transportation that everyone across the state can access. With demonstrated progressive priorities, he offers experienced leadership at this challenging moment.

Lovick's challenger, Republican Jeb Brewer, does not have elected or community leadership experience, but says he will bring a business lens to the Senate. Unfortunately, much of his conservative agenda doesn't suit the needs of the district. Rather than focusing on proven solutions driven by the community, he wants to roll back the long-overdue police accountability laws that have passed in recent years. Brewer's one-dimensional approach to transportation would short-change the options our diverse community needs to get to school, work, and recreation, especially compared to Lovick's sponsored bill. Finally, Brewer's policy on homelessness doesn't address the keystone issue that pushes individuals and families into homelessness - the incredibly high cost of housing. Criminalizing homelessness will only make the problem worse and cost taxpayers even more money.

Sen. Lovick's unique perspective has helped him sponsor and hone legislation that works for everyone in the district. He has earned your vote.

Incumbent Rep. Brandy Donaghy is running to build on her strong first term serving the 44th District. She was appointed to the House by the Snohomish County Council in late 2021 when former representative John Lovick moved to the Senate.

Donaghy is a Navy veteran and community organizer who has been involved in emergency preparedness training. She put her professional experience to work during her first term by expanding emergency workers' ability to protect the community. Donaghy sponsored legislation to address safe staffing levels for health care workers, which aimed to improve health and safety for both patients and practitioners. She also supported legislation to allow EMTs to provide vaccines and testing outside of an emergency in response to a public health agency's request.

Donaghy faces a challenge from former Republican Rep. Mark Harmsworth. He served two terms in the state House before losing to Democrat Jared Mead in the 2018 election. While he was a representative, Harmsworth pushed a very conservative agenda that aimed to reduce access to health care and the freedom to vote. He voted against the Reproductive Parity Act, which required that all insurance plans in Washington that cover maternity care also cover the full range of reproductive health services, and also voted against the Washington Voting Rights Act. In addition, he wasted taxpayer money on a politically driven investigation into Sound Transit. If elected this year, expect Harmsworth to continue fighting against public transportation and the right for everyone to access equal treatment, whether at the doctor's office or the ballot box.

Voters rejected Harmsworth's regressive agenda in 2018 and should do so again in 2022. Donaghy will fight for our shared values and has earned your vote.

Rep. April Berg is running for re-election to the 44th Legislative District, House Position 2. She is a former small business owner, director at the Everett School District, and a planning commissioner for the City of Mill Creek.

Berg's progressive accomplishments in the Legislature include working to reduce the cost of living for families, providing COVID relief, and modernizing the transit systems that get us to school, work, and play. As an advocate for youth, Berg has sponsored legislation to eliminate the lunch co-pay for hungry students and make menstrual products free in public school bathrooms.

Berg prioritized community safety this year by sponsoring bills to ban ghost guns. In addition, she took action to protect residents and elected officials by restricting guns in certain locations where harassment is likely to occur, including school board meetings and near ballot drop boxes. Her impressive record of accomplishments includes needed transportation and infrastructure upgrades. She also supported the landmark transportation bill, which will have a big impact on Snohomish County. The bill not only funds free rides for kids on public transit but also will fund projects like the Snohomish Teen Center and the Mill Creek Library rehabilitation.

Berg's opponent in this race is Republican Ryne Rohla, an economist in the state attorney general's office. While some of his policy positions should be commended, including offering training for workers for a green economy, his platform largely skews very conservative. Notably, he opposes balancing our upside-down tax code by making the wealthy pay their share to our communities. His proposal to arrest people for being homeless if they refuse shelter, or "go to prison until you change your mind," as he puts it, is as ineffective as it is heartless when there is nowhere near enough shelters or low-income housing available. He is also anti-abortion, and though he acknowledges that repealing abortion statewide would likely be overturned, it's unfortunate that he doesn't believe that Washingtonians should have the freedom to decide when and if to have children.

During these challenging times, we need leaders who offer thoughtful solutions based on evidence, not more divisive political rhetoric. Berg is the clear choice in this race for state House.

Leesa Manion has worked as the chief of staff of the King County prosecuting attorney’s office for the last 15 years. She is now running for King County prosecutor to provide consistent leadership to the office and support important reforms to the criminal legal system. If elected, she would be the first woman and the first person of color in this role. Outside of the prosecutor's office, Manion has served several leadership roles, including on the boards of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and as co-founding partner of Choose 180, which offers coaching and diversion programs to keep youth out of the juvenile justice system.

Manion's top priorities include tackling the backlog of 4,500 cases filed during the pandemic's work halt, increasing funding for reforms like mental health court, and intervening in gun violence before people become victims or offenders. High on her agenda is continuing to prosecute violent crimes while addressing racial disparities and providing culturally responsive care to victims.

In our interview with Manion, she offered compelling insights about the prosecuting attorney's office and how she would manage it if elected. She spoke of her experience building a well-functioning team and solid working relationships throughout the legal system, as evidenced by the fact that she earned the endorsement of SEIU 925, the union that includes public defenders. She also spoke about the need to apply racial justice principles to better reflect the values of the community, and invite the community to public listening sessions or possibly convene community advisory boards. Finally, Manion committed to spending more time going to monthly police and sheriff meetings to build relationships throughout the county.

We recommend Manion for her impressive platform and extensive track record of results, as well as the broad support of many progressive and Democratic organizations.

Jason Cummings is running to serve Snohomish County as the county prosecuting attorney. Cummings has worked in the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office since 1999 and for the last 14 years has been the chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney there. He has spent his free time in a number of community leadership positions including as president of the Imagine Children’s Museum board.

Cummings wants to lead the prosecutor’s office with transparency and integrity. As a lead on the Data Collective Initiative, he also has a strong focus on understanding racial and ethnic disparities in Snohomish County so that the prosecuting office can deliver equitable and accurate legal services for all residents. In this race, Cummings has received many local and statewide endorsements to bring his extensive experience and a strong sense of justice to the seat.

Cummings is running against Brett Rogers, a lawyer and former Seattle Police Department officer. Like many of his fellow Republicans, Rogers wants to use police, jails, and prisons as a catchall solution for the social issues facing our communities, which is both more expensive and less effective. His views on crime and punishment echo antiquated, right-wing beliefs that don’t make our communities safer.

Jason Cummings is the best choice in this race. He deserves your vote for Snohomish County prosecuting attorney.

Justice Mary Yu is running unopposed to continue serving on the state Supreme Court. Yu was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2014, elected by voters to the seat later that year, and re-elected in 2016. Before joining Washington’s highest court, she spent 14 years as a trial court judge in King County Superior Court and earlier as the deputy chief of staff to former King County prosecutor Norm Maleng.

Yu has an unimpeachable reputation and has been rated “exceptionally well qualified” by a number of key bar associations. On the court, she has been a voice for equal justice and upholding the rights of all. Now, she is running with endorsements from all of her fellow justices as well as a number of retired justices from the court.

Justice Yu deserves your vote to continue serving as one of Washington’s state Supreme Court justices.

Justice Barbara Madsen has served on the state Supreme Court for 30 years and is running unopposed for re-election this year. She was only the third woman to serve on the court when she was first elected in 1992. During her time on the court, her fellow justices elected her the 55th chief justice of the court – a position she held for 7 years.

Having spent her career in both prosecution and public defense, Madsen has extensive knowledge of the criminal legal system and a passion for serving her community. Her re-election has been endorsed by each of her fellow justices and a wide range of other judicial leaders and community organizations.

Justice Madsen has served the state with fair and equal justice. She deserves your vote to remain in her seat on Washington’s Supreme Court.

Justice G. Helen Whitener is running unopposed for re-election to Position 6 on Washington’s Supreme Court. Whitener became the first Black woman to serve on the state’s Supreme Court in April 2020 when she was appointed to fill a vacancy by Gov. Inslee. Later that year, she won her election to fill the remainder of the term. Prior to joining the Washington Supreme Court, Whitener served on the Pierce County Superior Court and worked as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney before becoming a judge.

Justice Whitener is both a Trinidadian immigrant and openly gay, and has worked to be a representative voice for justice for all in the state’s highest court. In this race, she has earned the endorsement of each one of her fellow justices as well as some retired justices. Whitener has been rated as "exceptionally well-qualified" by a number of bar associations and has done an exceptional job since joining the court.

Whitener is an important voice on the State Supreme Court and deserves your voice to continue serving as a justice in Position 6.

Incumbent commissioner Tanya (Toni) Olson is running to continue serving District 3 on the Snohomish County Public Utilities District. Olson has been in this seat for 18 years and also serves as a member of the American Public Power Association and Northwest Public Power Council.

Olson is running on a more status quo platform this year. Her priorities include delivering reliable customer service, keeping rates as affordable as possible, and protecting our environment so that we have sustainable power for generations to come.

The other candidate in this race is Ken Maertens, a Navy veteran and mechanical engineer. Maertens says that one of the reasons he is running for this seat is that “[he has] time on my hands.” His platform emphasizes the ideal of planning for the future, however, he doesn’t have a focus on environmental sustainability nor any concrete policy suggestions yet in this race.

In this race with no progressive choices, we recommend Olson because of her focus on community and the environment.