Seattle Councilmember Morales urges Council to follow the will of voters, send Initiative 137 to November Ballot

Seattle City Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2) is urging Council to fulfill its duty and take a final vote tomorrow to send Initiative 137 to the ballot this November.

Initiative 137 would fund the development of affordable, social housing through a modest tax on employers with workers who make more than $1 million per year. That money would fund the Seattle Social Housing Developer, that was approved by voters by a 14-point margin last year. More than 25,000 people signed a petition to send the I-137 to the ballot.

The Council’s role is to take a procedural vote to officially put the initiative on the ballot. However, if the Council delays and misses tomorrow’s deadline to take that vote, instead of going to the November ballot, voters would have to wait until next February’s special election.

In Seattle, around 55 percent more people voted during the last November presidential general election compared to the last February special election.

November 2020: 88.1 percent of registered voters participate on city ballot measure.
February 2023: 33.17 percent of registered voters participate on city ballot measure.

Councilmember Morales released the following statement today:

“It’s time for us to do our duty and send this proposition to voters. We have known I-137 was coming since it was announced in February. It’s my hope Council won’t obstruct this process now.

It’s simple: we want people to participate in our local democracy. We know that more people vote in November General Elections than at any other time. Any attempt to stall the Council’s procedural vote and delay I-137 to February, when less people will be voting, risks undermining the democratic process and the will of the people of Seattle.

We know Council can act quickly on this. For example, during tomorrow’s meeting, we are scheduled to vote on major legislation on contracting with SCORE jail, despite the fact the first and only committee meeting on the issue was less than a week ago. In comparison, I-137 has been on our radar for 6 months and more than 25,000 eligible voters have signed on to send it to the ballot,” Councilmember Morales concluded.