Signatures are being gathered for these social program ballot measures in Bellingham
A coalition of Bellingham political and social organizations is collecting signatures for four citywide ballot measures for the Nov. 2 ballot aimed at renter protections, labor and worker rights, and limiting police technology.
Organizers have until June 26 to collect 6,000 signatures for each of the four voter initiatives, said People First Bellingham volunteer Sage Jones.
“We put this project together because we saw the City Council was unresponsive to funding social programs,” Jones told The Bellingham Herald in an interview.
“We know that Bellingham is a special place and we want to keep it a place where workers can afford to live,” Jones said.
People First Bellingham coalition partners include Jobs With Justice, Imagine No Kages, Whatcom Democratic Socialists of America, the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force and the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center, she said.
“We’re actively trying to build a coalition of progressive organizations,” Jones said.
Volunteers are circulating petitions in neighborhoods door to door and at businesses, Jones said.
“Most people sign all four,” she said.
They’ve raised about $4,400 for the initiative effort, but not all that has been reported yet to the state Public Disclosure Commission, she said.
Four voter initiatives
People First Bellingham’s four measures are written as city ordinances, each addressing a different topic:
▪ 2021-01 — Renter Relocation Assistance: Requires 90 days written notice for a no-cause eviction or if a tenant’s rent will rise more than 5%. It also requires landlords to provide relocation assistance for a “no-cause” eviction or rent increase of more than 8%.
▪ 2021-02 — Ordinance Restricting the Use of Advanced Police Technologies: Prohibits the city from buying, contracting for, or using facial recognition technology, prohibits predictive policing technology, prohibits the police from keeping unlawfully acquired data.
▪ 2021-03 — Neutrality in Labor Campaigns: Prohibits anyone who receives city funds from using those funds to discourage unionization efforts, provides for private enforcement actions, and other labor protections.
▪ 2021-04 — Fair Treatment for Hourly Wage Employees: Ensures “adequate compensation” for hourly-wage and gig workers — especially those working in grocery, food service, health care, education, child care and retail stores open to the public — during the rest of the COVID-19 pandemic and during future states of emergency. It also includes provisions for $4 an hour premium pay and predictable work schedules.
Signatures of 6,000 voters registered are required to start City Council action, according to Whatcom County Auditor Diana Bradrick and Bellingham officials.
That’s about 10% of Bellingham’s 61,775 active voters, Bradrick told The Herald in an email.
Bellingham lists 3,835 inactive voters, she said.
If petitions are valid
If petitioners gather enough signatures, the City Council has 30 days to consider whether the measures should be enacted into law or placed on the Nov. 2 ballot, said James Erb, senior assistant city attorney.
“If council defers or takes no action on the initiative for 30 days, then the finance director will send a notice to the Whatcom County auditor requesting that the initiative (or initiatives) be placed on the ballot for the general election in November,” Erb told The Herald in an email.
“Council may also propose its own initiative dealing with the same subject matter if it chooses to do so. In that case, both initiatives (the one proposed by the people and the other proposed by council) would appear on the ballot in November,” he said.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
