A Seattle real estate firm has spent $175,000 to defeat Tacoma's Safe Homes For All renter-protection measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.
On the other side, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson rallied about 40 supporters at a fundraiser for the initiative Monday, Sept. 28, at a co-housing community in Seattle's Central District.
The event highlights how outside money and political influence are shaping a Tacoma election that will determine whether landlords must bargain with tenant unions and face new fines for violating renter protections.
An LLC tied to Goodman Real Estate, led by executive chairman George Petrie, gave the $175,000 in August to the Rental Housing Association of Washington's (RHAWA) political action committee, as KNKX first reported. RHAWA's PAC has raised $247,460 total to oppose the measure, according to state Public Disclosure Commission filings cited by KNKX.
The Tacoma For All PAC, which supports the initiative, has raised $155,000.
The contribution "means that Seattle needs to pay attention, too, especially when the person donating that money is also a Donald Trump donor," Wilson said at the fundraiser, referring to Petrie.
Wilson, a renter herself, linked the Tacoma measure to her own push to ban rental junk fees in Seattle. Tacoma For All organized the event with Seattle progressive groups including the Transit Riders Union, which Wilson used to lead.
What the measure would do
Safe Homes For All, also called Measure 1, would require Tacoma landlords to bargain with renters who form tenant unions. It would add new fines for landlords who violate existing regulations and fund enforcement through a per-unit rental license fee.
The measure follows Tacoma's 2023 Tenant Bill of Rights, which passed by fewer than 400 votes and broke local political spending records, according to KNKX.
Supporters say the city has not enforced those 2023 protections. Private lawsuits remain the only recourse for renters, and most cannot afford one, said Tacoma For All chair Kiss'Shonna Curtis at the fundraiser.
Kevin Schilling, director of government affairs and advocacy for RHAWA, rejected the measure in an interview with KNKX. "This is, plain and simple, a communist idea that they are trying to implement in the city of Tacoma," Schilling said. He argued the regulations would push small landlords to sell to large private equity firms, driving up rents.
Curtis countered that the initiative would create training and education programs for both tenants and landlords.
Disputed cost estimates
The measure's price tag remains a flashpoint. Tacoma City Manager Hyun Kim told the City Council on July 28 that implementation would cost $8 million to $10 million per year, warning he would need to cut police, fire and library budgets to cover it, as the News Tribune reported in August.
Tacoma For All executive director Tyron Moore put the cost at about $1 million. "The costs will be disproportionately borne by corporate landlords and repeat offenders, and not borne by Tacoma taxpayers," Moore told the News Tribune in August. "That's built firmly into the initiative."
The city faces a $40 million general fund deficit for the 2027–2028 biennial budget. City spokesperson Maria Lee said the city will not publish impact analyses on the measure until after Election Day, and only if voters approve it.
What happens next
Tacoma voters decide on Measure 1 on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Pierce County Auditor's Office verified the petition met the required 4,989 valid signatures in June.
