Dear Editor,
Does the current Tacoma City Charter effectively serve the needs of working families? Does it sufficiently protect the environment? Does privatization serve our best interests?
Currently, there is a Charter Commission appointed by the Tacoma City Council that will help to adopt a new city charter that will guide our government in the upcoming years. Public hearings are being held around the city, and citizens will have three minutes to voice their options.
What would a better charter, one that serves working families, look like? I have a few ideas (everyone is entitled to my opinions.):
1.) The Charter Commission was hand-picked by the current Tacoma City Council. While I am sure that its members are well intentioned, it seems top-heavy with the usual crowd. The first thing that the Charter Commission should do is to provide for an elected Charter Commission.
2.) All members of the Charter Commission should actually live in Tacoma.
3.) The goal of the charter should be to expand democracy, accountability and transparency in Tacoma's government.
4.) The city manager system should be discarded in favor of a system directly responsible to our elected leaders.
5.) The city council should be expanded to provide greater representation. At-large positions should be abolished in favor of neighborhood representation. We need to have a council that represents all of the constituencies in Tacoma – particularly in underserved neighborhoods.
6.) The charter should provide express protections for working families, e.g., a living wage, paid sick days and paid vacations.
7.) No privatization of city services. No council takeover of Tacoma Utilities.
It is my opinion that an expansion of democracy and neighborhood participation would position us to have a city council more adequately provide for neighborhoods.
Jim Williams - Tacoma
Former labor organizer and social worker