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 higher 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, pass abortion rights 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. 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 in the U.S. House to help Washingtonians and the rest of our country achieve stable housing, living affordability, family-wage jobs, and accessible health care. She has leveraged her tech background to balance consumer rights with innovation to create protections that benefit us all. DelBene was a key legislator in getting the Child Tax Credit passed and leads the effort to expand it going forward in order to keep putting cash back in the hands of working families and reducing 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.

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.

Progressive Jason Call is challenging Larsen for Congress in Washington's 2nd District. He is a high school math teacher who serves on the board of Whole Washington, which seeks to provide universal health care to everyone in the state. Call got his start in activism by protesting the first Iraq War and worked his way up to running for Congress. In 2020, he came up just 1 percent short of qualifying for the top two general election contest with Larsen in this relatively safe Democratic district.

Call is running on a sweeping platform that includes Medicare for All, free college, ending student debt, a Green New Deal, and a housing guarantee to help end our housing insecurity crisis. When it comes to public safety, Call supports banning assault rifles and wants to end the transfer of military equipment to police forces. He was proud to be named a Green New Deal champion and refuses to take any money from corporate PACs.

Beyond Larsen's failure to sponsor key legislation, Call is quite critical of the way Larsen has led the Aviation Subcommittee of the Transportation Committee. Rather than prioritizing aviation, Call believes we need to transition rapidly to using more high-speed rail and transit to fight climate change.

During our interview, Call acknowledged that many of his policies would require substantial structural changes to become law. He told us that he wants to use his candidacy - and if elected, office - as a platform to build grassroots support for progressive policies. His long-term goal is to build support for electing enough progressive senators to eliminate the filibuster and expand the Supreme Court.

While Call faces a challenging race against a longtime incumbent, he provides an alternative for those looking for bolder progressive leadership than Larsen.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is running as a nonpartisan candidate to bring an independent 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 as a nonpartisan candidate 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 nonpartisan, 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.

While Hobbs spoke more about using cybersecurity to protect our elections, Anderson leaned on her professional expertise to describe ways to expand our democracy. She believes, for example, that the state should redouble its efforts to reach voters with disabilities. By using a secure, expert-vetted electronic ballot similar to those used for overseas military voters, Anderson sees a path forward to reach those who don't always have access to vote.

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. She supports grants for local jurisdictions that are interested in trying ranked choice voting so that it's not unduly expensive for local governments, and so that auditors can learn more about how to manage and implement it.

Anderson offers voters an experienced option if they are looking for an independent to administer our state's elections.

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 Sen. Steve Hobbs' seat when Hobbs became 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 and keep them out of 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 and continue to serve 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.

A Navy veteran and community organizer who has been involved in emergency preparedness training, Donaghy has focused her first term on 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. He also 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 for 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 that 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.

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.

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 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.

Brett Rogers is a lawyer and former Seattle Police Department officer who is also running for prosecuting attorney. 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.

Gold Bar City Council member Jordan Sears is running on a climate-focused platform for Snohomish County PUD commissioner in District 3. Sears is an openly LGBTQ+ candidate and became the youngest city council member in the state when he was first appointed in 2019. Last year, voters elected him to retain the city council seat and, outside of the office, Sears works for a credit union and serves as president for the local Democrats.

Sears is running to prioritize working families and climate solutions as PUD commissioner. His platform is progressive and responsive to the most pressing environmental concerns of the district, including investing in energy alternatives, beginning the process to remove the snake river dams, and connecting with schools to build environmental learning. Sears also wants to make sure that the office has the funding it needs to carry out its responsibilities and continue leading on climate action. He has earned endorsements from environmental, progressive, and Democratic groups and elected officials in this race.

Incumbent commissioner Tanya (Toni) Olson is running to continue serving District 3 on the county PUD. 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. She does not share the same progressive vision as Sears for the office.

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.

Jordan Sears is the best choice to represent Snohomish County’s District 3 as a Public Utility District commissioner.