Water is increasingly scarce in Tacoma, WA. Three months ago, Save Tacoma Water began working with CELDF to protect their water and advance their right to local community self-government. The local grassroots group gathered 17,000 petition signatures in those three months, qualifying an ordinance and charter amendment that would protect the City of Tacoma from excessive water use for corporate projects. Despite the record setting petitioning effort and the overwhelming public support, the local corporate state powerbrokers filed a legal challenge to block both citizen initiatives.
On July 1st, on the eve of Independence Day, a local judge bought the arguments of the powerbrokers, deeming both initiatives beyond the scope of the initiative process.
He denied ballot access.
This lower court decision comes on the heels of a recent Washington State Supreme Court decision. The Court struck down a Community Rights initiative in Spokane, blocking it from a vote of the people. The Tacoma decision now strengthens the power of the corporate state to nix any local initiative that seeks to curb corporate control and institute greater protections and rights for people and nature.
Tacomans are outraged by the lower Court’s decision in their case, and determined to forge ahead. They are inspired by the first public screening of We the People 2.0, a film on the growing Community Rights Movement. The Tacoma Community Rights group is growing their organizing locally, and building state level action to protect water, the local initiative process, and the right of local community self-government.
For more information: savetacomawater.org