By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Last week, the Washington House Democrats announced that St. Rep. April Berg (D- Mill Creek) will chair the House Finance Committee, becoming the first Black committee chair in the history of the Washington State Legislature. Berg will chair the committee that addresses revenue while striving to create an equitable, stable, transparent, and tax structure for the state.
“Taxes should be unbiased,” says Berg. “Although numbers do not see color, the codification of numbers into revenue policy has historically been unfair to marginalized communities. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I will bring a unique and needed historical understanding of intent versus impact as we move towards a more fair and just tax code.”
Berg’s resume shows that she is highly qualified to chair the House Finance Committee. During the 2021-22 biennium, she was the vice chair of finance for the state legislature. She is also a former small business owner, aerospace program manager, and served on the Everett School boards. In addition, Berg served as a planning commissioner for the City of Mill Creek, providing support for local businesses, improving their transit connectivity, and developing creative solutions to accommodate growth and promote affordability.
Berg is also experienced in project management, B&O taxation, local revenue generation, and school financing mixed with her professional and living experience, which led to eight of the bills she sponsored which focused on the needs of working families, tax policy changes, and creating jobs being signed into law during the 2021-22 session.
Growing up on the Southside of Chicago, Berg is a product of the positive images of Black people that she witnessed firsthand.
“Growing up in Chicago I’ve seen people that looked like me who did everything. So, I knew I could do anything I wanted,” says Berg. “The work I’ve done at schools, on boards, and now in legislature was built off my strong resume. It shows that you can do anything no matter where you are.”
Berg would move to the Pacific Northwest in the late 1990s and began gaining political experience at Oregon State University, where she was elected as the first Black and youngest student body President in the history of the school.
At the time, there were only 153 Black undergraduate students enrolled at the school, and her election provided a sense of hope to other minority students. She was later appointed by Oregon’s Governor as a student representative to the Oregon Board of Higher Education.
Post college Berg’s career and family took root in Snohomish County, where she’s lived for 20 years and has made her mark with positive change and impact in that community.
With a heavy passion for quality schools, Berg was elected to Everett School boards in 2019, and within the role she wore many hats. She helped increase teaching and learning budgets, replaced and updated textbooks and technology, built partnerships for continuing and vocational learning, and lastly providing for frontline families during school closures.
The former owner of a Bed and Breakfast, Berg built and managed the business, while learning the environment of service and problem solving.
When asked how important her representation is now that she’s been named the first Black committee chair in the history of the Washington State Legislature, Berg said, “I love going out talking to young Black girls and showing them what they can do.”
“We have an All-Black delegation representing the 44th legislative district, this is the first time it’s happened since 1972 in the Central District,” she added.
Seeing the challenges of growth in the community, over-crowded schools, a lack of affordable housing, and the limited number of living wage jobs, fueled Berg to seek a legislative seat.
As she looks to continuing to make a positive impact and create change, Berg voiced, “we have a tax system that’s overly reliant on sales tax. When I look at the tax structure and ask, “is it fair?” My answer is no. We really need to tax wealth, because currently we’re only taxing work. By wealth I mean billionaires, quarter billionaires, and half billionaires. I want to see us move policies that move us to a better tax code.”
In addition to serving as the chair of finance, Berg will also serve on the appropriations and local government committees.
