Candidate Forums This Month
Ballot Issue Forum: Tenant Protections in Tacoma
Defending Democracy: Constant and Essential Work
Become an Election Observer
Climate Commitment Act (CCA): What is it and what is happening
Homelessness
World Homelessness Day
| League Issues, cont'd
Annual League Booth at Puyallup Fair: How would you spend $10 million on housing?
Comprehensive Planning
Affordable Housing Consortium Lunch & Learn
Comprehensive Planning Workshop
Transit
In Memoriam: Worth Gurley
Unit Meetings
League Efforts at the National Level: Policy, Advocacy and Litigation | | | Candidate Forums This Month
For the General Election coming up on November 7, there are a number of races for which the League is sponsoring candidate forums, including one hosted by the Tacoma-Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium. All of our forums have other co-sponsors listed at the forum web page here. For more information and links to watch the forums, see this page, as well as occasional updates. (The links on the announcement below are not active.) Please note that we have had to cancel forums at the last minute because candidates cannot participate; hence the need to check updates on our forum web page. When a candidate withdraws from the forum and leaves only one candidate available, then our policy requires us to cancel. See the policy here.
Ballots will come out about October 20. Be sure to watch for your ballot and turn it in before November 7. See you at the forums! | | Ballot Issue Forum: Tenant Protections in Tacoma
Update on New Rental Housing Code and Proposed Changes on the Ballot
Thursday, October 19, 2023, 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Join the webinar here.
Wyatt Fisher, Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers Housing Justice Project staff attorney, will guide participants through the new, proposed - and sometimes confusing - codes that govern rental housing in Tacoma. Tacoma voters are no longer being asked to choose between two competing renters' rights measures in November. On August 30, a Pierce County judge ruled that the city of Tacoma must remove a ballot initiative for tenants' protections that have already been approved by the Council and became effective on July 24, 2023. Tacoma for All’s initiative seeks to amend the city’s current rental housing code.
Questions remain:
- What does Tacoma's new Housing Code (adopted July 11, 2023) mean for renters and landlords?
- What parts of the existing code would change if Tacoma for All's Tenant Bill of Rights (Initiative 2023-01) is approved by voters?
This webinar is co-sponsored by Tacoma-Pierce County League of Women Voters, Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers and Tacoma-Pierce Coalition to End Homelessness. For more information about current and proposed rental housing codes:
- Read Ordinance 28894 as passed by the Tacoma City Council on July 11, 2023, which updated the Rental Housing Code (TMC 1.95, RHC)
- Read a summary of Tacoma for All's Tenant Bill of Rights (Initiative 2023-1). Includes a link to the full text of the initiative at the bottom of the page.
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President's Message
Defending democracy: Constant and Essential Work
By Rosemary Powers
In this fall season of our 103rd year, I am deeply grateful for local League members doing the common and constant work of defending democracy and empowering voters. These are particularly difficult days, but I am also aware that past League members labored through times of war, depressions, and frequent despair at the possibility of creating a society where the individual right to vote is guaranteed by law and safeguarded in fact. | | |
In contrast to states that are passing laws to restrict opportunities for voting, we in Washington have reason to celebrate our commitment to a convenient and secure voting process.
In Pierce County, however, we also have low voter turnout (just under 25% in the August, 2023 primary and 60% in the November, 2022 mid-terms). So, like those earlier League stalwarts, we have much to do to encourage residents of our county to register, become informed about issues, and actually vote.
Already this election season we have sponsored multiple candidate forums, provided election observers to represent independent voters, and conducted outreach to potential voters at events like the Hilltop Street Fair and the State Fair in Puyallup. Given today’s polarized and hyper-partisan political landscape, it can be a challenge to inspire confidence that the League is a consistent non-partisan presence that makes space for multiple perspectives.
As I witness the amazing voluntary commitment of our local League members, and reflect on what keeps me showing up to do hard but fulfilling work, I am reminded of a favorite poem by Marge Piercy titled To Be of Use. Give yourself a little treat and check it out (here https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57673/to-be-of-use ). If you are interested in getting more involved, but aren’t quite sure what to do, check out the opportunities presented here in the Voter, browse our website at lwvtpc.org or drop me an email at rpowers@eou.edu.
Thanks for your work.
| Become an Election Observer
By Ann Williams
There is another opportunity to join the non-partisan Pierce County election observers. Annual training is required and is currently scheduled for October 6 at either 10:00 am or 1:00 pm at the Pierce County Election Center, 2501 S. 35th Street, Tacoma.
| | | Completion of the training allows one to function as an election observer for elections in Pierce County through next spring. The League sponsors nonpartisan observers. Other observers are from the political parties. Any nonpartisan citizen is eligible to be an observer, you don't have to be a League member.
This is not only an opportunity to provide a service to the public but also an opportunity to see for yourself how ballots are handled and election results are generated.
No registration required. Contact Ann Williams if you have any questions.
| Climate Commitment Act (CCA):
What Is It and What is Happening
By Chuck Jensen
A part of Washington State’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, for which the largest single source, over 40%, is generated by transportation, was to create a cap on emissions as of 2030 and adopt a “cap and Invest” act to create a market-based approach to reducing pollution. The chart below portrays the anticipated effects. | | SB 5126, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), was passed in 2021. It is the "cap and invest" act similar to what was previously enacted in California. The “cap and invest” approach is founded on the “cap and trade” concept, described in the staff report summarizing the Act as, “Cap and trade is a market-based, economy-wide approach to reduce pollution, which is comprised of two key components—a limit or cap on carbon emissions; and tradable allowances.”
It goes on to note that the bill mandates the Department of Ecology to implement a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cap and invest program to reduce GHG emissions consistent with the statewide emissions limits passed a year or two earlier. The program must track, verify, and enforce compliance through the use of compliance instruments. It sets a price on carbon with a cap and trade and invest program setting a declining limit on emissions over time and creating market-tradable allowances, all resulting in an escalating price on carbon.
The major polluters in the state would purchase "allowances" in a regular auction, and the proceeds would go to various programs in the state, including renewable energy projects, reducing emissions from buildings and transportation, and adapting to the effects of climate change — such as supporting the relocation of tribes as the sea rises. It also establishes a regulatory program to reduce air pollution in areas where people are breathing particularly unhealthy air and provides other benefits for overburdened communities.
The "cap" was designed to be lowered, so that those polluters would have fewer and fewer allowances to purchase over time, thereby reducing state emission levels.
According to the staff report in 2021, nine US states participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap and trade program established in 2009. California began operating a cap and trade program in 2013, and it is linked with a program in Quebec, Canada. European countries have operated a cap and trade program since 2005.
The program has had several consequences. First, the income has exceeded expectations, so the state is looking at possibly "rebating" some of the funds back to the citizens, such as a $100 rebate per vehicle for vehicle owners. Also, there has been an increase the retail price of gas, which has prompted an initiative drive (I-2117) to repeal the entire act. That initiative, if successful, would appear on the 2024 ballot.
Others in Olympia have hinted that the legislature should pass a bill in the next session to "stop the price gouging" by the oil industry, such as what was done in California.
There are many more details about the CCA than this article can convey. See the Washington State Department of Ecology page about CCA here, for some additional information. | World Homeless Day is observed internationally on the 10th of October
The purpose of World Homeless Day is to draw attention to the needs of people who experience homelessness locally and provide opportunities for the community to get involved in responding to homelessness - while taking advantage of the stage an ‘international day’ provides - to end homelessness through improved policy and funding.
~From the World Homeless Day Website
World Homeless Day coincides closely with the anniversary of Tacoma’s Camping Ban (passed on October 12, 2022). In Tacoma, October 10 will be marked by a gathering at the Tacoma Municipal Building. All are welcome. See the flier below for details.
October 10: World Homeless Day
- 4:30 pm: Gather outside at 733 Market Street
Hear from outreach workers and people with lived experience about the effects of the camping ban and promising alternatives to the harmful practice of sweeps.
- 5:00 pm: City Council meeting begins in Council Chambers
Opportunity to provide testimony or to support those testifying during the Citizen’s Forum.
| | Annual League Booth at Puyallup Fair
How would you spend $10 million dollars on housing in Pierce County?
That’s what we asked residents who visited our LWV-TPC booth at the Puyallup Fair between September 22-24. We gave each person 10 pennies and informed them that each penny represented one million dollars. After ensuring that the participant understood the meaning of Area Median Income (AMI), we encouraged them to “vote’ with their pennies.
Visitors were then offered a “democracy rocks” rock, and we slipped a little flyer about housing and regional planning in the rock bag (info for the road). Our thanks to Rosemary Powers and her team of rock artists! | In the images above, at left are the options (penny jars); at right are the rocks.
The options (penny jars) we provided included these (left to right):
-
Supportive Services for households at or below 30% AMI (extremely low income)
- Subsidized Affordable Housing for households at 30-50% AMI (very low income)
- Affordable Housing for housholds at 50-80% AMI (low income)
- Workforce Housing for households at 80-120% AMI (middle income)
- Market Rate Housing for households at or above 120% AMI
AMI = Area Median Income
The area median income (AMI) is the household income for the median — or middle — household in a region. It means that half of the household incomes in Pierce County are below that level; and half are above it. The AMI for Pierce County is: $112,600 per year (100% AMI).
In the next Voter, we'll publish the results with a few "stories from the booth.” Meanwhile: Where would you put your millions?
Thanks to Ruth Ann Hatchet who organized the volunteers and who spent more than a few hours setting up, taking down, and managing the booth. Thanks also to the other League members who showed up to register voters and have conversations with Pierce County residents about issues that matter.
| Comprehensive Planning
Comprehensive planning is underway in every Pierce County jurisdiction. The new plans are due at the end of 2024. These plans have housing and climate change elements never before required. So the League is encouraging engagement in the process in many ways. Among those:
- The Tacoma-Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium is hosting a series of Lunch-and-Learn eventsfocusing on comprehensive planning. See the series here. See the flier below related to the next event, scheduled on October 11. Also see a report on HB 1110, which affects housing, by Jashon Gauthier, Director of the South Sound Housing Affordability Partnership. This was presented at a Consortium Lunch -and-Learn event on September 21.
- The League held an interactive workshop on September 16, and a report of it is below. Note the new housing requirements by jurisdiction here. This includes the number of new units needed by 2040 by income range and includes shelter units.
- For those who could not attend the workshop, an abbreviated version will be the topic at November Unit Meetings. See the article below on Unit Meetings.
As always, the public is invited to our Unit Meetings, workshops and most other events. | | Comprehensive Planning Workshop
By Cynthia Stewart
On Saturday, September 16, a group of League members and some non-members met to find out how comprehensive planning works. With the new housing density and climate requirements recently added by the state legislature, these participants wanted to understand the impacts and how to be heard by planners and elected officials when the options are presented.
The workshop included designing a portion of the county and/or city that they selected. These images and models created a clear message to convey to decision makers. See some of the work below. | Key takeaways from this experience included these:
- The magnitude of housing that has to be added is staggering. It will be important to assure that planning for this proceeds expeditiously in order to get it to happen.
- Funding for affordable housing remains a big issue.
- There are many intersections in Tacoma that have businesses spread out with a great deal of parking space. These could be converted into walkable centers, with more compact mixed use development, increasing both housing and the viability of the businesses.
- An approach of creating higher density near major streets, with a graduated lower level of density as the distance from those thoroughfares increases should be used.
- Pocket parks will be important to assure some outdoor opportunity and green space within a walkable distance of all housing. Larger parks require more travel and are not necessarily easily accessible to all.
- Transit must be increased, including some to outlying rural centers, allowing more rural residents access as well as supporting housing density and linking smaller cities to the mass transit (Link) centers.
- The County’s resource reserve areas must be mapped in all areas and saved from development.
- It is important that the capital facilities plans accompanying the housing and climate elements address actual future needs and funding for them.
If anyone would like a similar workshop for another group or neighborhood, please contact Cynthia Stewart. | Pierce Transit is gathering community feedback on a number of issues. Read the bus system recovery plan here.
Check out the outreach events here at which you can hear about Pierce Transit's plans and give your feedback. | | | At these events you can:
• Learn about the Recovery Plan and what we heard from the community during the online survey period
• Review two scenario options for improved transit service in Pierce County
• Provide feedback on your preferred scenario, your top priority for what to implement first, and other details
• Learn about the next steps of the Plan and how to stay connected
Also see a description of Enhanced Bus by Downtown on the Go, as summarized in the image below, here.
| The Transportation Choices Coalition has conducted a study of youth transit riders, now that they have had access to free service (young people under 18). In a series of focus groups, here is a summary of what young riders said said. You can read the entire report here. | | | Strengths of Riding Transit
- Environmental impact
- Increased independence
- Enhanced equity
- Connections with operators
| Challenges of Riding Transit
- Insufficient infrastructure and service
- Negative stigma
- Difficulties navigating the system and lack of rider education
- Safety concerns and discomfort
- Unreliable real-time information
| | | Youth Recommendations
- Establish youth ambassador programs
- Offer more educational materials and instructional programming for youth
- Establish more frequent and reliable service
- Create a more reliable system for tracking real-time information
- Enhance cleanliness and sanitation on buses and at transit stops
- Recruit and retain civilian transit security personnel with specific training in de-escalation tactics and in supporting young riders
- Broader upstream investments in social services and partnerships
As adults, how do you see it? These findings were statewide, not in Pierce County necessarily, but chances are, our young people would agree - and so would adults. Let Pierce Transit know what they can do in their service improvement plans to support new riders who might otherwise be reluctant.
| In Memoriam: Worth Gurley | | | Worth Gurley passed away in August 2023 at the age of 104. He was almost 105, as his birthday was in September. Worth was a long time League member, joining League with his wife Marian in 1982.
Worth participated in our League by working on League studies, particularly transportation, and attending Unit meetings and other League activities. He was concerned about voting and last voted in the 2023 primary election. He lived life to the fullest, and was working on his memoir project until the end. | Unit Meetings
Update , Initial Programming & Invitation to Join a Planning Team
Last month, we reported on the Unit Meeting survey conducted in August and initial plans for 2023-2024 programming. We asked for additional responses, and appreciate hearing your ideas. Over three-fourths of us prefer meeting in person, so we’ll plan for this. Since the rest preferred a virtual option, we’ll continue that as well on the first Wednesday of the month from 6:30- 8:00 pm. The others will be Tacoma, 1:00 - 2:30 pm, 2nd Thursday of the month; and Puyallup, 10:00 - 11:30 am, 2nd Saturday of the month.
Almost all respondents who preferred in-person wanted to meet in Tacoma or Puyallup, so those two locations and schedule as last year will be retained. The Gig Harbor unit meeting will be on pause this year, and a unit location on the west side of Pierce County may be added, based on future conversations with members living in that area.
For the remainder of 2023, our unit meeting schedule will be:
- October: no meeting. Instead, everyone should attend at least one of the local candidate forums and encourage others to participate in this essential public service sponsored by our League. See the Candidate Forum schedule here.
- November: Comprehensive Plan Updates and Ways to Take Action
This program will describe comprehensive plan requirements and give some updates on local planning efforts as well as suggest how to effectively participate.
The unit meeting schedule and locations are:
- Virtual -- 1st Wednesday of each month, 6:30 - 8:00 pm
- Tacoma -- 2nd Thursday of each month
Thursday, November 9, 1:00 – 2:30 pm,
North Tacoma (Kandle Park) Police Substation, Conference Room
5140 N 26th St., Tacoma, WA 98407
- East Pierce/Puyallup – 2nd Saturday of the month
November 11, 10:00 -11:30 am; Location to be announced
December: No unit meeting but an all-member Program Planning meeting will be held in early December. This is the time we develop proposals for our local program of work for 2024-2025.
January through May 2024
Tentative topics for unit meetings over these five months include climate change/environmental action, barriers to voting, book bans and school board politics, The League and the internet: resources for defending democracy. We will confirm more specific topics and dates at our October board meeting.
| Invitation to Join a Unit Meeting Planning Team
Over two-thirds of those responding to the unit meeting survey said they would be willing to help plan those events. Please let us know if you are willing to meet to plan for one of these topics (or something else you think is important for League to discuss). We’ll let you know what’s involved, and put you in touch with others who have agreed to take leadership.
Send a short email with your interest and best way/time to reach you to Carolyn Edmonds and Rosemary Powers. |
League efforts at the national level
Policy, Advocacy and Litigation
By Rosemary Powers
| | |
League members can learn a lot by browsing the national League website at http://www.lwv.org. One especially useful page offers a one-stop shop to register and find resources related to LWVUS policy and advocacy webinars.
The webinars typically run about an hour, and cover topics of national priority concern, many with local implications. You will find these member resources under “League Management” here.
Upcoming events include:
- A Supreme Court Recap (October 5)
- Redistricting 2030 (October 19)
- Fighting Voter Suppression Bills (Oct 26)
- UN Observers and International Advocacy at LWV (Nov 15)
- Federal Voting Rights Bills (Nov 30), and Where are Reproductive Rights Post-Dobbs? (Jan 25).
If you are not able to attend the live webinars, they are recorded and made available at the same site along with associated slide decks. | League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County
621 Tacoma Avenue S., #202
Tacoma, WA 98402
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