Tacoma challenges February election for so-called ‘workers bill of rights’
The city of Tacoma has asked a judge to reconsider his recent decision to put a proposed “Workers Bill of Rights” on the ballot in a special election in February, according to court filings.
The move comes after a monthslong back-and-forth between the activists responsible for getting the initiative on the ballot, the city of Tacoma and Pierce County over whether the initiative should appear on the November 2025 or February 2026 ballots. Superior Court Judge Philip E. Thornton ruled after a hearing in late August as part of an ongoing lawsuit on the matter that it could not be placed on the November ballot and in an opinion issued Sept. 9 called for it to be placed on the ballot for a special election in February.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, Tacoma For All and the Tacoma Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America sued the city of Tacoma, Pierce County and County Auditor Linda Farmer last month arguing that they didn’t act with “reasonable promptness and diligence” to protect the right of initiative after the measure was not scheduled to appear on the November ballot.
In a motion for reconsideration filed Sept. 19, the city of Tacoma’s lawyers made the case that Thornton’s decision “contains errors of law and is void and unenforceable.”
“The court has exceeded its equitable powers by ordering the county to place the initiative on the February 2026 ballot,” the motion states.
The initiative, for which activists collected thousands of signatures to get the item on the ballot through Tacoma’s initiative process, would raise Tacoma’s minimum wage to $20 and increase protections for workers in Tacoma. Tacoma city spokesperson Maria Lee told The News Tribune that the city “does not comment on litigation.” County auditor Linda Farmer said the county is working to place the initiative on the February ballot after Thornton’s Sept. 9 order to do so.
“We will, of course, comply with any future court orders,” Farmer wrote in a statement Monday.
Kiss’Shonna Curtis, vice chair for Tacoma For All, called the motion to reconsider “undemocratic and disgraceful.”
“The city wants to set a precedent that they can interfere with things like this – if they don’t like an initiative, they can just interfere and make sure it doesn’t go on the ballot, and that’s really scary,” Curtis told The News Tribune.
The city’s motion cites a portion of state law which states that elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in the year in which they were called.
“The dates set forth in this statute are mandatory,” the motion states. “This statute thus requires that this initiative be heard at the November general election and does not allow the Initiative to be placed on the February 2026 ballot.”
It goes on to say that the judge’s order to put the initiative on the February ballot goes beyond the law and that doing so “would create new law in Washington.”
“While the right to vote is constitutionally protected, there is no constitutional right to petition for a local initiative,” the motion reads.
The city’s motion for reconsideration also includes a motion to shorten time, with a hearing scheduled for Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. Pierce County auditor Linda Farmer said after Thornton issued his opinion earlier this month that the county would place the measure on the February ballot, and as of Sept. 22 the county’s website reflected Farmer’s statement.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 1:20 PM.
