Initiatives & Charter Amendments

VOTE YES on Tacoma’s Safe Homes for All (SAFE) Initiative

This would establish a City enforcement process for alleged violations of tenant-protection laws, assess fines for certain violations, establish funding through rental-registration fees, and require landlords to negotiate with certified tenant unions.

VOTE YES on Prop 1: Keep Pierce Moving

Prop 1 would expand transit service across Pierce County by 47%. Provides free fares for seniors and youth, new and more frequent bus routes, three Streamlines with 15-minute service, and extended weekend and evening service.

VOTE NO IL26-645: keep the Millionaires Tax

Multimillionaires are funding a campaign to repeal an additional 9.9% of taxes on every dollar OVER $1 million dollars of annual income. That means the 9.9% only kicks in on the one-million-and-first dollar of income someone makes in a single year. This tax is used to fund our schools, which are often funded by taxes on the working and middle class. In Washington, people who earn less than $99,000 per year pay more than 10.9% of their income to state taxes, while people who earn over $878,000 per year only pay 4.1% of their income to taxes. The poor should not pay more! (source)

VOTE NO on IL26-001 & IL26-638

These bills are funded by billionaire Brian Heywood, and are designed to target girls, transgender, and LGBTQ school-aged children. They remove safety provisions for ALL students, including child abuse victims. The bills also require genital exams on ALL girls who want to play sports.

Pierce County Charter Amendments

VOTE YES to Appoint Pierce County Sheriff & End Swank’s Term Early (Jan 2027)

The Sheriff impacts every county resident! The Sheriff enforces state and local laws over unincorporated areas, assists county courts, handles subpoenas and evictions, and oversees the county jail. Too often unqualified candidates, like Swank, have been elected sheriff and their only accountability is an election every 4 years.

In contrast, an appointed sheriff must meet clearly identified qualifications and is hired only after a rigorous vetting process. They are subject to continuous oversight by the County Executive, and can be disciplined or removed for conduct contrary to state and local laws or their job description. Two consecutive sheriffs, including Swank, have allegedly violated laws with impunity and have expressed overtly discriminatory attitudes against people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+, and other innocent members of the public.

VOTE YES to Public Safety Ombuds Office

This office would provide community accountability, act on complaints, increase access to internal departmental documentation, and make recommendations for resolution. It would build community trust and lower the county’s exposure to costly litigation.

VOTE YES to Council Rules

This would reduce the number of mandatory Council meetings from 50 to 45, allowing Council Members and staff more time to address residents’ needs while maintaining public access.

VOTE NO to Extending time for signature gathering for County initiatives

Billionaires like Brian Heywood often pay out-of-town signature gatherers to lie and scare people into signing petitions to put initiatives on our ballot! Vote NO, or it will become easier for the ultra wealthy to push through their pet-project initiatives.

VOTE NO to a 4-year Budget Outlook

A hostile federal administration, costly wars, and fewer safety nets are denying WA residents the funding we need and deserve. Requiring County government to abide by unreliable 4-year budget predictions could impair its ability to serve all residents and negatively impact labor negotiations.

VOTE YES to Non-discrimination

Uphold non-discrimination with language in compliance with the WA State and US Constitutions.

VOTE YES to Juvenile Detention Advocate

The County has been found liable for millions of dollars in litigation costs from decades of physical and sexual abuse at our juvenile detention facility, Remann Hall. While there have been recent improvements, an Advocate is necessary to stop these heinous violations.