Tacoma For All

Tenants and landlords will soon have a chance to voice their opinions on how Tacoma’s new tenant protections have impacted them. It’s been nearly two years since voters here approved the Landlord Fairness Code. The regulations, ranging from a $10 cap on late fees to a ban on economic evictions during certain times of the year, were an attempt to address increased rents and evictions by Tacoma For All, an advocacy organization for tenants and working class Tacomans.

Tacoma For All and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367 announced plans to bring an initiative to Pierce and Thurston county voters next year. The groups are calling the initiative a workers’ bill of rights.

The final release of election results for Pierce County showed a victory for those who have been pushing for a set of progressive tenant protections in Tacoma. “We feel really proud of what we've achieved. It was a real David versus Goliath kind of fight,” said Ty Moore, campaign manager for Tacoma For All, the group behind the initiative. Citizens’ Initiative Measure No. 1 passed with 50.43% of the vote, a difference of just 370 votes. There was quite a strong push against the measure — $371,175.84 in expenditures were reported from “No on Tacoma Measure No. 1,” according to the Public Disclosure Commission. That’s triple what Tacoma For All spent.

After Tuesday night’s general election, Tacoma’s Citizens’ Initiative Measure No. 1 was failing by a slight margin.Still, the mood at Real Art Tacoma, where supporters of Measure 1 and City Council candidate Jamika Scott gathered Tuesday night was electric.

With the deadline looming to secure enough signatures to get their initiative on the ballot, volunteers with Tacoma For All canvassed across Tacoma Friday.Zev Cook, field manager for the campaign, led a group of eight volunteers in the late afternoon around a South Tacoma neighborhood.

Organizers from the housing justice group Tacoma For All and their supporters gathered with signs and megaphones Thursday afternoon to show their support of the initiative, known colloquially as a tenant bill of rights, which Tacoma For All hopes to get on the ballot for voters this fall.The rally took place before a meeting of the city’s Community Vitality and Safety Committee, where city councilmembers Catherine Ushka, Keith Blocker, Sarah Rumbaugh, and Kiara Daniels were briefed on the city’s proposed changes to the Rental Housing Code.