Report on Negotiations: Mayor and Council Members Prepare Competing Tenant Policy
After talking with thousands of Tacoma voters in recent months, we are more confident than ever that a big majority will support ourTenant Bill of Rights in November. This is clearly the view in City Hall as well, and a central reason that Mayor Woodards, Deputy Mayor Walker, and Councilmember Hines convened a meeting with Tacoma for All representatives last Tuesday. Also present were City Attorney Bill Fosbre, the City’s Landlord-Tenant Housing Coordinator ChiQuata Elder, and several other city staff.
The city leaders made clear that, in response to Initiative 2023-01, our Tenant Bill of Rights, they intend to bring forward an alternative ordinance before our June 16th deadline to turn in signatures. They want to negotiate a compromise deal with Tacoma for All instead of going forward with our initiative. We have a follow-up meeting scheduled with them for May 15th, where they promised to present their alternative draft.
Let us make three things clear upfront:
We are continuing an all-out drive to gather 8,000 signatures by mid-June to put the Tenant Bill of Rights on the November ballot. The only reason city leaders are negotiating with us is because they know we are on track to win in November. Now is the time to redouble our efforts, not pump the brakes. Sign up here to help canvas and donate what you can today!
We are calling on the City Council to pass the full Tenant Bill of Rights as a partial step toward housing justice in Tacoma. Really, they should pass the entire Home in Tacoma for All Platform. Any last-minute intervention by city leaders to take the wind from our sails with a significantly watered-down package only helps the big landlords by increasing the risk that Tacoma tenants won’t secure the full protections they need.
A June 11th Tacoma for All ACTION CONFERENCE will democratically decide whether to accept a compromise or to turn in signatures for Initiative 2023-01 (more details below). Rather than closed-door negotiations, we will transparently report on meetings with city leaders so that Tacoma for All supporters and coalition partners can make an informed decision on June 11th.
The four of us representing Tacoma for All in this first meeting – Ann Dorn, Michael Whalen, Devin Rydel Kelly, and Ty Moore – will provide a fuller report at our May 13th campaign meeting.
Landlord Lobbyists are Fighting Back
Tacoma-based landlord lobbyist Jim Henderson has spent years fighting to ensure powerful landlord and real estate interests get their way in Tacoma City Hall and the State Capital. At his invitation, we met with Mr. Henderson in March just outside the Old Town headquarters of his company, LandlordSolutions, Inc. Mr. Henderson made clear he and the groups he represents – including the Rental Housing Association of WA and the Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors – intend to fight our initiative.
Everyone should read The Stranger’s bruising profile of Jim Henderson to better understand our opposition.
Mr. Henderson was the main landlord representative on the City of Tacoma “stakeholder” group that “[s]ince March 2021, staff have met weekly with… to discuss the [Rental Housing Code] policies.” Those weekly stakeholder meetings helped shape “Five Proposed Changes” made public earlier this spring.
While insufficient, these “Five Proposed Changes” are more complementary than competing with our Tenant Bill of Rights initiative, with limited overlap. However, as Council Members Hines emphasized,city leaders are now rushing to fundamentally re-shape those “Five Proposed Changes” into a full-fledged alternative to the Tenant Bill of Rights.
With Jim Henderson’s access and influence in City Hall, we have no reason to doubt he and the powerful special interests he represents are influencing City Council’s sudden eagerness to bring forward an alternative to Initiative 2023-01.
Across the country, landlords are losing the public debate on tenant rights. Jim Henderson knows tenants would win an up-or-down vote on the Tenant Bill of Rights in November. So the best strategy for the big landlords to block the Tenant Bill of Rights from passing is convincing City Council to rush through an alternative with watered-down tenant protections.
We Call on City Hall to Pass the Tenant Bill of Rights
Popular opinion in Tacoma and nationally has shifted decisively in favor of strong tenant protections – and against endless rent hikes and landlord profiteering. In this context, we believe there is room for Tacoma tenants, unions, and community leaders to convince our City Council to listen to the majority of Tacomans instead of the big landlord and real estate lobbyists.
In a follow-up letter we sent city leaders Friday, we made clear that Tacoma for All “would welcome the City Council to simply pass the Tenant Bill of Rights, which has the backing of dozens of community leaders and organizations, the Pierce County Central Labor Council, and thousands of Tacoma voters who have signed in support… Additionally, if you are open to passing the lion’s share of Initiative 2023-01, but believe small adjustments are needed, we are very open to discuss those out and would be optimistic that good-faith negotiations could result in a positive outcome for Tacoma tenants.”
In response, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff suggested a follow-up meeting on May 15th, where city leaders would present a draft alternative to our Tenant Bill of Rights. Their goal is to bring a final draft to the May 25th meeting of the Council’s “Community Vitality & Safety Committee.”
Depending on the outcome of negotiations, City Council could vote to pass this draft ordinance in June, which the Mayor and Council Members made clear was their preference. However, if we don’t reach an agreed compromise, they did not rule out putting a competing initiative on the November ballot, asking voters to choose between our Tenant Bill of Rights and their watered-down version.
Transparent and Democratic Negotiations
Even as we engage in good-faith dialogue with City Council Members, our negotiating power comes down to the strength of our movement – our ability to convince 8,000+ Tacoma voters to sign in support of the Tenant Bill of Rights and to mobilize public opinion behind our campaign. Whether it’s union representatives sitting across the negotiating table with employers, tenant leaders negotiating with landlords, or Tacoma for All organizers negotiating with city leaders, our real power lies in our capacity for collective action, not negotiating room.
That’s why Tacoma for All will organize an ACTION CONFERENCE on Sunday, June 11th (time & location TBA) to democratically decide to either accept any compromise offer from the City Council or to turn in signatures to put the Tenant Bill of Rights on the November ballot. All campaign volunteers, petition signers, donors, and members of endorsing unions and community groups will be invited to democratically debate the options and then cast their vote.
This kind of grassroots democracy is at the heart of Tacoma for All’s approach. We only agreed to launch our initiative campaign after a full discussion at the February 11th Tenant Rights Action Conference, which was endorsed by, and included representatives from, over two dozen unions and community groups, and giving a voice to those with lived experience of housing instability.
We will keep everyone updated as we learn more. Together, we have built a powerful movement that is transforming the policy debate in City Hall, but the fate of tenant rights in Tacoma hangs in the balance. The next six weeks will be critical. Now is the time to throw everything we have into this fight. By everyone pitching in, each making whatever sacrifices we are able to, we are positioned to achieve a major victory. Please consider making a generous donation today, registering for volunteer shifts, and join Tacoma for All on May 13th to discuss and decide together our strategy for the pivotal month ahead.
Sincerely,
Ann Dorn, Michael Whalen, Devin Rydel Kelly, and Ty Moore
On behalf of the Tacoma for All Steering Committee