Update (August 31, 2021): The Compassion Seattle campaign has filed an emergency motion with the Washington Court of Appeals and is seeking a stay of last week’s decision to remove Charter Amendment 29 (CA29) from the November ballot. According to their appeal, the group is seeking expedited process that would result in a response issued by Thursday, September 2nd, and a decision by morning of Friday, September 3rd. The appeal claims receiving the decision by that time will allow for King County Elections to proofread and print ballots including the contested charter amendment according to the agency’s plans.
To justify their appeal, the campaign argues that if a stay is not issued, Seattle residents will have to potentially wait to years to vote on the city charter amendment, which had received enough signatures to appear on the ballot. That said, Compassion Seattle is simultaneously arguing Seattle voters can also voice their preferences by voting for pro-CA29 candidates for Mayor and City Council.
“As we said last Friday, we strongly disagree with Judge Catherine Shaffer’s decision to strike Charter Amendment 29, a decision that blocks Seattle voters from being able to voice their opinion about the continuing crisis of homelessness,” Compassion Seattle said in a statement. “The Judge’s decision caused an outpouring of support over the weekend from supporters who want us to press on with an appeal. We decided that we must take this action to represent the interests of tens of thousands of voters who signed petitions to put this amendment on the ballot.”
Compassion Seattle identified what they believe to be five underlaying issues in the ruling by Judge Catherine Shaffer, notably that parts of her ruling that apply to the “initiative process” are inapplicable to a charter amendment case. Parties on both sides of the lawsuit will be hanging tight over the couple days. Stay tuned!
Original Article: Plaintiffs in the lawsuit contesting the proposed Seattle City charter amendment nicknamed “Compassion Seattle” by supporters, were thrilled to learn this afternoon that King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer issued a ruling in their favor. The charter amendment will not appear on Seattle ballots this November, barring a successful appeal.
