Tacoma, WA protest demands democratic change at city hall
Tacoma, WA – Tacoma residents gathered outside the Tacoma Public Utilities auditorium on July 2, to make their last statements ahead of the finalization of the city’s new charter.
Every decade, the city of Tacoma convenes a Charter Review Committee, or CRC to assess and make changes to how the city is run. In 2024, 24 recommendations were made by the CRC, some of which include the formation of a Climate Accountability Commission, a Policing Accountability Board, and removing power from the city manager to place it back to the mayor and city council.
The crowd outside the temporary city council chambers urged the council to pass all CRC recommendations with cries of “Democracy across the nation! Pass every recommendation!” and “Let us vote!”
The outcry for accountability for the police and the climate comes after the murder of Manuel “Manny” Ellis and the subsequent acquittal of the Tacoma police officers who killed him, and the construction of a mega-warehouse in South Tacoma, respectively. Many of the decisions made by the city are single-handedly made by Tacoma’s unelected city manager, Elizabeth Pauli.
Ann Dorn, member of the Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America, stated, “We want to vote on where executive power is placed, and we want this under the control of the people.”
“We already told the city that we wanted change ten years ago, and nothing good has changed for us. We get murdered, we get pollution, we get violation of treaty rights – we get nothing, and they get everything!” said Gemini Gnull, member of Climate Alliance of the South Sound.
Once inside the chambers, the people made their thoughts known to the council during the public hearing section.
“Tacoma is called the City of Destiny, but what destiny has this current city government designed for the 250,000 Tacomans who rely on it? A destiny of Amazon warehouses, LNG plants, police brutality and lung disease,” Sean Renning, a Tacoma resident, testified. “The Bridge Industrial warehouse is the greatest travesty this city has suffered since the Ruston copper smelter a century ago.”
During the meeting, the city council did not bring up the Policing Accountability Board, presumably because it would not move forward in the charter. Attentive Tacomans recognized this and made note of it in their statements to the council.
“It looks likely the policing accountability recommendation from the charter commission is not going to be put forward to voters, and that concerns me,” said Sean Arent, member of Washington Against Nuclear Weapons. “I think this is something our city cares about, and I think public safety ranks as a top concern for most Tacomans and we should have democratic control over that system.”
The filibustered meeting finally ended after four hours, leaving residents uncertain about their future but ready to keep fighting back.