Snohomish County’s guide to the 2024 election

Published 10:10 am Monday, November 4, 2024

All eyes Tuesday will be watching the results in the presidential race trickle in across the country.

But voters will also decide on numerous local races, including seats in the state House and Senate, ballot initiatives on minimum wage and sales taxes as well as school funding measures. At the state level, residents are picking a new governor, attorney general, public lands commissioner and making decisions on four ballot measures.

The deadline to drop off ballots at one of Snohomish County’s drop boxes is 8 p.m. Tuesday. The voters’ pamphlet can be found here.

As of Friday, about 45% of the county’s 530,000 registered voters had returned their ballots.

Here is The Daily Herald’s latest coverage of the races:

What would Snohomish County sales tax hike do for public safety?

Proposition 1 would add an additional two-tenths of 1%, or about 2 cents for every $10 spent on retail in the county, to be spent on public safety. The county said the sales tax would raise about $40 million annually. Opponents note Snohomish County already has a high sales tax rate.

Snohomish County judge candidates want to bring transparency to court

Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Whitney Rivera is running for her first full term on the bench after being appointed earlier this year. She faces Mary Anderson, who lost a close race to join the court last year.

What’s the difference between 2 measures to raise Everett’s minimum wage?

Voters may be confused about two similar ballot initiatives to raise Everett’s minimum wage to $20.24 per hour. Initiative 24-01, known as Everett Deserves a Raise, would increase wages starting July 1, 2025, for employers with over 500 workers.

Initiative 24-02, known as Raise the Wage Responsibly, would count tips, health insurance and retirement contributions toward an employee’s wage, allowing employers to use those to make up the difference between the state minimum wage and the city’s, among other differences.

Everett initiative asks: Should the Snohomish River have legal rights?

If Initiative 24-03 passes, city residents could take anyone negatively impacting the watershed’s health to court.

Individuals, companies or businesses found responsible for disturbing the watershed would be liable for the damages, and would have to pay City Hall for restoration projects. Opponents argue this would lead to frivolous lawsuits.

‘MAGA Republican’ looks to unseat Everett’s Larsen in Congress

U.S. Rep Rick Larsen, D-Everett, is seeking a 13th term representing the 13rd Congressional District, which stretches from Edmonds to the Canadian border, including parts of Snohomish County and all of Island, San Juan, Skagit and Whatcom counties.

Cody Hart, a self-engineer, is running against him under the “MAGA Republican” label, arguing the two-party system isn’t working.

Cost of living looms large in 38th District races

In the 38th Legislative District, incumbents Julio Cortes and Mary Fosse, both Democrats, face challengers. Disability advocate Annie Fitzgerald says she’s running to Cortes’ left. Meanwhile, Marnie Claywell is running to Fosse’s right.

The district represents Everett and much of Marysville and Tulalip.

Education policy a top issue in House race

State Rep. April Berg, D-Mill Creek, is running against Sam Sim, a Republican from Bothell. Education policy has been a dividing line between them. Berg, a former Everett school board member, wants to increase public education funding, while Sim, an entrepreneur, wants vouchers for students to attend charter schools.

The 44th Legislative District encompasses the cities of Mill Creek and Snohomish, as well as parts of south Everett, Monroe and Bothell.

Nurse, former sheriff vie for open east Snohomish County seat

Redistricting shifted the 12th Legislative District to the west, so it now covers a swath of the state stretching from Monroe to parts of Wenatchee.

North Bend City Council member Heather Koellen, a Democrat, and former Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett, a Republican, are vying for this open seat.

Muzzall, St. Clair face off in expensive state Senate race

The campaign for the state Senate seat representing the 10th Legislative District is the most expensive legislative race in the state. The district represents Island County, a wide swath of the north coast of Snohomish County, as well as Arlington and parts of Skagit County.

Incumbent Sen. Ron Muzzall, a Republican, has raised over $920,000 to retain his seat in this purple district. Island County commissioner Janet St. Clair, a Democrat, has brought in nearly $585,000 in her bid to unseat him.

Money pours in for 10th Legislative District seats in the House

Meanwhile, the races on the House side of the 10th District are equally contentious. Democratic Reps. Clyde Shavers and Dave Paul face tight re-election battles against Carrie Kennedy and Gary Wray, both Republicans.

Democrats seek re-election to seats representing Edmonds, Mukilteo

Reps. Strom Peterson and Lillian Ortiz-Self, both Democrats, similarly both face Republicans in their re-election bids. Riaz Khan, a former Mukilteo City Council member, switched party allegiance to run as a Republican against Peterson. Khan said he was recently attacked in what he considered a hate crime.

On the other side, Kristina Mitchell will appear on the ballot against Ortiz-Self, but Mitchell has said she wanted to withdraw from the race.

The 21st Legislative District encompasses Edmonds and Mukilteo.