Exec Bruce Dammeier wants Pierce County to enter car-tabs fight, says voters have spoken
Pierce County might join the legal fight over the recently approved I-976, which called for $30 car tabs statewide.
This week, Executive Bruce Dammeier sent a letter to Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett asking her to begin working on the county’s possible support for the initiative, which was sponsored by tax activist Tim Eyman and approved by voters last month.
Pierce County voters approved the measure by 66 percent.
“Pierce County voters were overwhelming in support of car tab relief,” Dammeier told The News Tribune. “I, along with [Chairman Doug] Richardson and Robnett, thought it was important to make sure the voters now that we are standing up for them.”
Richardson told The News Tribune that the council will vote to decide on the potential legal action at the Dec. 10 meeting.
“The Pierce County Council will determine if Pierce County intervenes in the King County Superior Court litigation,” he said in a statement.
King County, Seattle and a handful of other jurisdictions have sued to overturn the initiative, arguing the ballot measure was misleading and violated the rule that local matters should be decided locally. The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is defending the initiative.
If Pierce County joined the fray, it would offer assistance and resources, the county said in a statement. Dammeier said discussions around joining the fight have nothing to do with the state’s defense, nor the fact that Attorney General Bob Ferguson has previously sued Eyman and fought the opposite side of the car-tab case.
“It’s all about representing the voters of Pierce County,” he said. “I have heard a great deal of concern that their voice will be lost in the legal process.”
Dammeier said time is critical. King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson sided with King County and temporarily blocked I-976 from taking effect on Dec. 5 as scheduled. The Washington Supreme Court is expected to take up the case soon. The temporary injunction led Dammeier, Richardson, and Robnett to discuss getting involved, Dammeier said.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 1:22 PM.
