PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A Pierce County judge ruled in favor of the sponsors of a Tacoma tenant bill of rights ballot measure on Wednesday, ordering the county to remove a competing initiative proposed by the city.
The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Tacoma for All and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 (UFCW 367). The two organizations said the city charter should guarantee voters the right to an up-or-down majority vote on citizens’ initiatives. They said by putting a competing measure on the ballot, the Tacoma City Council tried to deny voters that right and illegally interfered with their own tenant bill of rights.
“This is a massive victory for grassroots democracy in Tacoma and a victory for everyone fighting for stronger tenant protections,” Campaign Manager Ty Moore said. “Today, the court blocked the City’s attempt to derail our campaign on behalf of the landlord lobby, and made it clear that City Council’s actions were not only deceptive but illegal.”
On July 11, a majority of the city council voted to put Amended Ordinance 28831 on the November ballot to compete with the Tenant Bill of Rights. The same night, the city council also voted to enact the ordinance, meaning that it would become law and would offer no new protections.
Officials who supported Measure 2 included Mayor Victoria Woodards, Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker, and Councilmembers Ushka, Hines, and Bushnell. Councilmembers Diaz and Daniels voted against putting it on the ballot, according to the news release.
“We are thrilled that the courts have upheld democracy and ruled against the City of Tacoma,” said UFCW 367 President Mike Hines. “We are deeply disappointed in the actions of our elected representatives, who acted against the interests of working families in Tacoma. They acted to unlawfully deceive Tacoma voters with their competing ballot initiative, but we are relieved that justice has prevailed and Initiative 1 will now be presented to the people of Tacoma for a fair decision.”
The City of Tacoma sent this statement in response to the ruling:
In today’s order, Pierce County Superior Judge Timothy Ashcraft validated the Tacoma City Council’s authority under the City Charter to place an alternative on the ballot to a citizen initiative petition. The Court also agreed with the City that an alternative to a citizen initiative petition would be correctly presented as a plurality vote (the measure that gets the most votes prevails) to the voters under State law. Nevertheless, the Court found a problem in the Council’s adoption of the ordinance prior to placing it on the ballot for voter approval (which would prevent the Council from changing it for two years without another vote). We are disappointed in this portion of the Court’s decision and we are in the process of determining our next steps. -City of Tacoma Attorney Bill Fosbre
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