Tacoma for All Announces Rally to Urge Council to Adopt Full Tenant Bill of Rights
City Officials Plan to Unveil Weaker Proposed Rental Housing Code Changes at May 25 Community Safety and Vitality Committee Meeting
TACOMA, WA – Tacoma For All is calling on supporters to attend a press conference and rally outside of city hall to be held Thursday, May 25 at 4 pm prior to the Community Safety and Vitality (CVS) committee meeting. City officials made it clear in meetings with Tacoma For All leaders that they plan to unveil additional changes to the Rental Housing Code at the CVS meeting, which appear to be designed to serve as a weaker alternative to the Tenant Bill of Rights, Initiative 2023-01, which is heading for the November ballot.
“While we celebrate all advances for renters, we call on City Council and the Mayor to adopt the full Tenant Bill of Rights, because we believe the majority of Tacoma voters want strong tenant protections,” said Michael Whalen, a vice president of United Food and Commercial Workers 367, Executive Board member of the Pierce County Labor Council, and member of the Steering Committee of Tacoma For All. “If they will not adopt the full Tenant Bill of Rights, we believe that the fair and democratic thing to do is allow Tacoma voters to decide this November, rather than undermine our initiative with a watered-down version or weak updates to the Rental Housing Code.”
Whalen points to rent increases of 43 percent in Pierce County over the last five years and the fact that landlords are evicting Tacoma residents at the highest rate in the state as part of the reason for the urgency behind the Tenant Bill of Rights. Nevertheless, despite extreme conditions in Tacoma and Pierce County, the city has so far only proposed limited tenant protections in their proposed Rental Housing Code changes.
“We are at a critical moment in the fight for working class families in Tacoma,” said Ann Dorn of Tacoma for All’s Steering Committee. “We know landlord lobbyists are pressuring City Council to step in, so we’re asking our supporters to come out on May 25 to our 4 pm rally outside city hall prior to the CVS meeting, where we plan to demonstrate to city council that there is widespread support and demand for the full Tenant Bill of Rights.”
Tacoma For All’s May 25 rally will start at 4 pm and will be held on the Market Street side of City Hall, located at 747 Market St, Tacoma. Tacoma For All is a grassroots coalition seeking to get Initiative 2023-01, also known as the Tenant Bill of Rights, on the November ballot. For more information: www.tacoma4all.org.