EVERETT — All three races in the state’s 44th Legislative District are contested this year, with Republicans seeking to unseat the incumbent Democrats.

In the Senate, longtime local politician John Lovick faces school board director Sherri Larkin. Farmer Chris Elder looks to unseat Brandy Donaghy for Position 1 in the State House of Representatives, and incumbent April Berg faces property manager Tonya Stadlman for the Position 2 seat.

The 44th District includes Snohomish, Mill Creek, parts of Monroe and parts of unincorporated Snohomish County.

The county mailed ballots out Oct. 9. Election Day is Nov. 3.

State Senate

Sherri Larkin

Larkin, 57, is a substitute teacher from unincorporated Snohomish. She currently serves as a member of the Snohomish School District Board of Directors.

Larkin said she decided to run for State Senate because she was concerned about some policies passed in the last two years, including the “millionaires tax” and business and occupation tax increase.

“I have friends that have moved out of state,” she said. “I’ve got young adults of my own that can’t buy a home, and they have good jobs.”

Part of addressing the state’s budget challenges, Larkin said, is decreasing regulations on businesses.

“When businesses flourish, make money, they then hire more people,” she said. “We have growth and innovation, more businesses, more people able to buy and sell. That model itself will bring in more revenue for the state, but hamstringing businesses and forcing them to lay off, downsize or even move is not a way to solve a budget crisis in our state.”

As a school board director, she said she’d like to increase local control for school districts. She also supports changing the state’s education funding model to make it more equitable throughout the state. For example, she said funding electric school buses might work better in urban areas than more rural areas.

She also wants to support local law enforcement in order to retain officers and hopes to address what see shes as a lack of prosecution of crimes.

Larkin said she wants to address homelessness and does not support the “housing first” model, which prioritizes connecting people with housing before addressing other needs such as substance use disorder treatment or getting a job.

“When someone commits a crime, or is in the issue of addiction, just giving them a home isn’t going to solve their needs in life,” she said.

In the 44th District, Larkin said she wants to advocate for the Highway 522 project, which would widen the highway to two lanes and create an interchange at Paradise Lake Road. While design has started, funding has not yet been secured for construction. She said that she expects traffic to increase with new construction in the area.

As of Wednesday, Larkin had raised $50,698 for her campaign, according to state filings.

Larkin is endorsed by Snohomish County Council member Nate Nehring, Snohomish Mayor Aaron Hoffman and State Rep. Carolyn Eslick, among other elected officials. She also has endorsements from the 44th Legislative District Republicans, the Snohomish County Republican Party and the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs.

John Lovick

Lovick, 75, has served in the State Senate since December 2021, when he was tapped to fill the vacancy left by Steve Hobbs becoming secretary of state. He lives in Mill Creek.

Lovick previously served as Snohomish County Sheriff and Snohomish County Executive. He served two separate times in the State House of Representatives for a combined 14 years. He is currently the vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.

In his time in the Senate, Lovick has helped pass legislation creating the Covenant Homeownership Program, which offers housing assistance to people whose families were impacted by housing exclusion and segregation. Last year, he passed a bill that standardized eligibility requirements for police chiefs, marshals and sheriffs — although a Thurston County judge blocked some provisions of the bill earlier this month.

If reelected, Lovick’s priorities include school safety, road safety and ensuring that people have well-paying jobs with benefits.

He said he wants to keep working on opening more regional law enforcement campuses, such as the one that opened in Arlington in 2025.

“I think you feel safe when you know that if there is an incident that officers are responding — whether it be the state patrol, the county sheriff’s agency or the municipal police, make sure they get those good officers in communities and continue to recruit,” Lovick said.

An issue affecting the 44th District specifically, Lovick said, is affordability. To increase affordable housing, he said he wants to put more funding into the state’s Housing Trust Fund Program, which goes toward building and preserving multifamily housing. He also supports building housing near transit hubs.

“It has not solved all of the issues, but we are moving in that direction,” he said. “We’re trending in the right direction.”

Lovick supports expanding light rail to Everett and wants to encourage more people to use public transit.

On education, Lovick said he said he wants to focus on school safety, as well as fairly paying teachers and staff.

As of Wednesday, Lovick had raised $202,213 for his campaign, according to state filings. He carried over an additional $95,521 from his previous campaign.

Lovick is endorsed by Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Snohomish County Treasurer Brian Sullivan and Snohomish County Sheriff Susanna Johnson, among other elected officials. He also has endorsements from the Washington State Labor Council, the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association and Snohomish County Indivisible, among other organizations.

State Rep. Position 1

Brandy Donaghy

Donaghy, 53, has served in the House since December 2021, when she was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Lovick. She lives in unincorporated Everett and is a U.S. Navy veteran.

Donaghy is currently the vice chair of the House Transportation Committee.

In her time in the House, Donaghy has focused on traffic safety and emergency preparedness. In 2025, she authored a bill to make driver training mandatory for drivers under the age of 21, up from the previous requirement of all drivers under 18 years old. In 2023, she authored a bill that created a statewide resilience program to prepare for disasters.

“How quickly a community recovers has a huge impact on not only the health and well-being of those members of the community, but also the economy as a whole,” Donaghy said. “… One of the reasons that I got into this was to be able to work in this area, and I still have some work I definitely want to get done in this area before I’m done.”

Donaghy said she aims to pass one piece of emergency preparedness legislation each year. Next year, she hopes to pass a bill addressing unreinforced masonry, which could collapse in the event of an earthquake. She also hopes to advance a bill that educates pet owners about the impacts of releasing pets into the wild. She supports a bill from Lovick that would lower the legal driving blood alcohol concentration limit from .08% to .05%.

In the 44th District, Donaghy said there are a lot of bridges in need of upgrades and additional support.

“We’re definitely focusing pretty heavily on maintenance and preservation of the infrastructure that we currently have, so that those roadways are and remain safe for use, and there’s then there’s triage for identifying which projects are the absolute emergencies,” she said.

On the budget, she said she wants to look at current programs to ensure that funds are well-spent and well-awarded.

On affordable housing, Donaghy said that in addition to development at transit corridors, she would be interested in looking at more rural areas.

“I’ve noticed that we see places like mobile home parks and such close and not reopen elsewhere, and I think that can actually be an affordable, safe option for people,” she said. “But there needs to be those spaces available to allow for that.”

As of Wednesday, Donaghy had raised $104,687 for her campaign, according to state filings. She carried over an additional $27,134 from her previous campaign.

Donaghy is endorsed by the Washington State Labor Council, Snohomish County Democrats and Planned Parenthood, among other organizations.

Chris Elder

Elder, 41, is a farmer and retired U.S. Navy veteran living in unincorporated Snohomish.

“I’m running because I want to be a public servant that listens to the people, and instead of complaining about how expensive it is, and instead of complaining about how I feel and see the justice system being eroded, I would rather join in on how we can fix our state,” Elder said.

If elected, Elder said he would want to increase transparency of the budget process. He said he’d be interested in a third-party, bipartisan review of the budget.

He also said he’d want to make changes to the justice system and the mental health system. He said he’s against the “housing first” model. Elder said he supports increasing training for social workers to join police officers on calls.

“Just having the social workers there purely to see how they can connect them to the right resources, and I’ve seen firsthand how they interact with the people,” he said. “But the problem is, if we don’t have support for the law enforcement and the social workers, then it’s all for nothing.”

He said he’s recently been on ride-alongs in the 44th District, and he’s seen how homelessness, drug use and small property crime is impacting the area, particularly in and around Mill Creek.

Elder also wants to address road safety on Highway 2, such as adding more medians or widening the road, especially near 88th Street in Snohomish. He said he believes fewer people are willing to move to the area because of the traffic.

On the climate, Elder said the Climate Commitment Act — a state plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — hasn’t been effective and has only created more government jobs.

“I truly do care about the environment, but we also have to care about the people that live in the environment because they are part of it,” Elder said. “Charging them billions of dollars for no results — in my book, that doesn’t sit right.”

As of Wednesday, Elder had raised $45,701 for his campaign, according to state filings.

Elder is endorsed by Snohomish County Council member Sam Low, Snohomish Mayor Aaron Hoffman and Snohomish County Council member Nate Nehring, among other elected officials. He also has endorsements from the Washington State Republican Party, Snohomish County Republican Party and the 44th Legislative District Republicans.

State Rep. Position 2

April Berg

Berg, 52, has served in the House since 2021. She lives in Mill Creek. Berg currently serves as the chair of the House Finance Committee.

One of Berg’s top priorities for the next session would be addressing affordability, she said. Affordability is one of the top issues impacting the 44th District, she said.

“We’ve got issues with affordability right now, and I think there’s a lot more that we can do in Olympia in the next biennium to help families have a more affordable life here in Washington state,” Berg said.

In her time in the Legislature, Berg said she has focused on tax policy, education and local government. She’s worked to pass legislation eliminating the reduced school lunch fee and adding free menstrual products to school bathrooms statewide. As chair of the finance committee, she authored an amendment to the millionaires tax bill that increased assistance for lower-income families.

Berg said she looks forward to working on a jobs package in the House next session if reelected.

“I think we have to continue to have conversations around progressive revenue, but I also think that the best way to have affordable communities is to have economic growth,” she said.

On the budget, she said she wants to balance the cost of certain programs versus the amount of people who are eligible to participate. Berg also supports looking into tort reform.

“Being very victim-centered in our approach, but also being mindful of budget constraints,” she said. “I really do think there’s a way to thread the needle that’ll be better fiscally for our state, but still focusing on victims.”

To address public safety, Berg said she wants to ensure law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to do their jobs. At the same time, she said she wants to have a “focused” conversation about where public safety funding is going.

“Incarceration is incredibly expensive,” she said. “So when I hear communities talk about fiscal sustainability and affordability … we need to have mindful conversations about public safety, what it looks like and what’s effective.”

As of Wednesday, Berg had raised $277,276 for her campaign, according to state filings. She carried over an additional $25,000 from her previous campaign.

Berg is endorsed by U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene and U.S. Rep Rick Larsen. She also has endorsements from Washington Conservation Action, the Washington State Nurses Association and the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund, among other organizations.

Tonya Stadlman

Stadlman, 50, is a property manager living in Snohomish.

She said she wanted to run for the state Legislature after seeing how state housing policies were impacting communities and property owners in her line of work.

Stadlman said state regulations — such as the Clean Buildings Act — are increasing the cost of housing for both single-family and multifamily homes. She added that it’s been difficult to hold people accountable for not paying their rent.

“Things that are going to cost us more money to maintain and do and stay in compliance, for example, that stuff eventually at the end of the day is going to trickle down into the residents’ rent,” she said. “So looking at what is actually necessary versus what is just a policy they put in place, not realizing the implications that it was going to have.”

In addition to housing, Stadlman said she would focus on affordability and public safety if elected. On affordability, she said she’d look to lower the tax burden on residents.

“People are feeling fed up and taxed out,” she said. “They feel like it’s not sustainable. … I hear that more times than anything else in the 44th.”

She’d also look to see what the state can do to lower gas prices.

Stadlman said she’s seen homelessness and addiction begin to impact the Snohomish area. She also said she does not support the housing first model, and that Washington needs to “raise the bar” on low-barrier entry at shelters.

“We need to make sure that they’re getting the help they need, whether it’s detox, rehabilitation of some sort,” she said. “Meeting them first of all where they are, and then understanding how they got there, and then making sure we have an actual path forward that’s going to give them the resources that they need.”

Stadlman said she wants to support local law enforcement agencies and work to increase staffing across the state. She added that she wants to ensure that people are held accountable for committing crimes.

On the budget, Stadlman said she wants to audit current spending before authorizing funding for new programs.

As of Wednesday, Stadlman had raised $38,053 for her campaign, according to state filings.

Stadlman is endorsed by Mill Creek City Council member Vincent Cavaleri and Snohomish County Council member Nate Nehring, according to her Facebook page.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn