MILL CREEK — In the 44th Legislative District, incumbent Democrat Rep. April Berg is facing off against a Republican challenger, Sam Sim.
The 44th District includes the cities of Mill Creek and Snohomish, as well as parts of south Everett, Monroe and Bothell. All of the elected legislators in the district are Democrats.
Berg, 50, was first elected to the seat in 2020. Sim, 52, had never run for office before. In the August primary, Berg and Sim were the only two candidates. Berg won by nearly 20%.
Berg hopes to continue her time in office focusing on increasing public education funding and raising dedicated funding for affordable housing.
Sim said he decided to run to add more balance into state politics. He is an advocate for lowering taxes, providing charter school vouchers and utilizing private-public partnerships for affordable housing.
State lawmakers are paid $61,997 per year.
April Berg
Berg was born in Chicago and has lived in Snohomish County for over 20 years, formerly serving on the Everett school board.
“I got very frustrated that every time I wanted something to change, people said ‘Oh, that’s a state law,’” Berg said. “So when the seat became open, I said, ‘Maybe I should go change some of those state laws.’”
Berg is the chair of the House Finance Committee, and serves on the state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council. On the economy, she proposed a homestead exemption to lower property tax rates. In her proposed bill, which didn’t get a committee hearing this session, the first $250,000 of a home’s value would be exempt from state property tax. It would not affect city property taxes, she said, because they are already strained by the 1% annual levy increase limit imposed by the state.
“I am passionate about local control, and that’s why for me, as a state legislator, it’s frustrating for me that we have laws that really hamper how much localities can choose to invest in themselves,” Berg said. “Taxes are an investment in community. … Letting local government, the local elected officials be able to raise or lower property taxes as they see fit, seems like the right thing.”
Because of the annual limit, cities frequently seek levy lid lifts to help pay for services.
Berg also advocated for increasing dedicated funding for affordable housing. She proposed a bill last year to add a 1% tax to sales of homes over $3 million to fund the state’s Housing Trust Fund. The bill would also reduce the tax burden on home sales under $750,000.
On education, Berg advocated for providing additional funding to school districts. She said she will propose a bill this year to increase money for school supplies. Berg also wrote legislation to eliminate the lunch co-pay for students eligible for reduced price lunch, meaning about 44% of students in Snohomish County now qualify for free meals at school.
She also wrote a bill requiring menstrual products be placed in women’s and gender-neutral bathrooms in schools.
Berg supports the right to abortion.
“I believe in our state, we have the right policies in place to protect a woman’s right to all health care,” Berg said.
She also hopes to modernize the current legislative calendar. In Washington, legislative sessions alternate between 105 days in odd years and 60 days in even years, with no recesses. Berg proposed consistent 105-day sessions with opportunities to pause for recesses.
Berg had reported $212,464 in campaign contributions, as of Wednesday.
Sam Sim
Sim, a tech entrepreneur, is a 20-year resident of Bothell. Snohomish County Republican Party Chair Bill Cooper encouraged him to run for office.
“No politics, no experience, but I’m a businessman, and I built three companies by focusing on being goal-oriented, accountable and managing our budgets and finance well,” Sim said.
Sim’s top issue is education, opposing what he calls cultural indoctrination in schools. He opposes diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and said families are opting out of public school due to them, along with inefficient spending. He advocated for increasing financial scrutiny over school districts, providing vouchers for charter schools and distributing funding based on performance metrics.
“Schools should stay laser focused on what they are constitutionally established to do, which is educate,” Sim said. “The primary purpose of public schools established in Washington state is to educate on the basics of reading, writing, math arithmetic, science.”
His second most important issue is public safety. Bothell residents tell him consistently they are afraid in their own neighborhoods, Sim said.
“And it’s because I hear about all these things that are happening in our backyard, in our neighborhood, that never used to happen before,” Sim said.
Crime has decreased annually in Bothell since a spike at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to FBI statistics.
Sim noted Washington has the lowest ratio of police officers per capita in the country, with a total of 1.34 officers for every 1,000 people in 2023, FBI statistics show. The perception of police officers needs to change, he said, advocating for appreciating officers more. He also supports subsidizing wellness programs and mental health counseling for cops.
On the drug crisis, he advocated for “getting to the heart of the matter” by providing therapy and counseling for people before they do drugs, calling it a “longer term approach.”
Sim’s next issue is the cost of living. Inflation has risen because of the mismanagement of government spending, he argued. He opposes capital gains taxes, which fund schools, saying they penalize people for working hard. Sim advocated for using public-private partnerships, where governments work with businesses on projects.
He shared a similar proposal for affordable housing, suggesting governments should give tax breaks to corporations to build additional housing. Sim supports increasing density to accommodate the state’s growing population.
On abortion, Sim said he personally opposes the procedure, but would “uphold the law,” which has allowed for abortion since it was legalized in the state in 1970.
If it came to a vote, though, Sim said he would only allow abortion if it would prevent death or severe injury to the parent or child.
Sim had reported $16,996 in campaign contributions, as of Wednesday.
Ballots are due Nov. 5.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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