Group fails to submit enough valid signatures for Kent City Council change

A group that wanted to change election of Kent City Council members to districts from at-large positions failed to submit enough valid signatures with King County Elections for a potential ballot measure next year.

Kent For Districts leaders put the campaign “on an indefinite hiatus,” after failing to submit the 10,572 valid signatures to be considered sufficient.

“It looks like 13,699 signatures were submitted and after two rounds of review, just under 7,400 (54%) were valid,” said Halei Watkins, a King County Elections spokesperson, in an Oct. 16 email. “Reasons for rejection include the voter’s registered address is not within the voting district, the person could not be found as a registered voter, or the voter had signed more than once (duplicates).”

Monica Mendoza-Castrejon and Cliff Cawthon led the campaign. Mendoza-Castrejon is a law student at Seattle University and longtime civic activist who grew up in Kent and still lives in town. Cawthon is a housing advocate and former Kent City Council candidate. The group started its signature collection in February.

“We’re surprised and disappointed and we’re also grateful for all of the support that we’ve received during this campaign,” Cawthon said in a Kent For Districts email. “It isn’t an easy decision to put this campaign on an indefinite hiatus. We originally believed there would only be a 2,000-2,500 signature gap which we could overcome with additional signature gathering. …

“The reality is that we do not have resources to responsibly acquire the signatures that we would need to close this gap and have this measure qualify for the February 2025 special election ballot, despite the overwhelming public support.”

The group says Kent’s at-large system of city council elections disenfranchises large swaths of the city — particularly, those who have dealt with the economic and ecological impacts of growth in the region. Districts would require council members to be elected from certain areas of the city, including East Hill, Kent Valley and West Hill.

Because of nearly 7,400 valid signatures, the group hopes the seven-member council will take up the measure and allow voters to decide whether they want to make a change from at-large positions. Council members Marli Larimer, John Boyd and Brenda Fincher supported the campaign. It would take four council member votes to put the proposal on a ballot.

“If Council President (Satwinder) Kaur were to bring this to the council, we would do our due diligence to help with the process during the drafting of the ordinance and after it passes with the redistricting commission that our initiative called for,” according to Kent For Districts. “Right now, it’s up to the council – they could pick up the baton and run with this idea or not. District-based elections are also a major way to encourage candidates to engage every voter.”

Kaur has not responded to Kent Reporter emails about whether she would consider bringing a proposal to council about district elections. A council president typically doesn’t bring up a proposal if it doesn’t have the votes needed for approval.

Lack of valid signatures

Kent For Districts certainly didn’t expect so many invalid signatures.

“It seems that voters who live in unincorporated areas and voters who have recently moved to Kent thought that they were registered within city limits signed, but they didn’t know that their signatures wouldn’t qualify,” according to Kent For Districts.

The group said it used Votebuilder, a common tool for campaigns; particularly, candidate-based campaigns.

“Votebuilder doesn’t account for incorporated vs. unincorporated areas and the data that is in the system is often 1-to-2 years old,” according to Kent For Districts.

Kent For Districts said it went door-to-door to collect signatures. But to increase the numbers, it hired paid signature gatherers who went to dozens of public spaces; such as, festivals, grocery stores and transit hubs.

City attorney email

Near the end of the signature-gathering campaign, Cawthon and Mendoza-Castrejon received a Sept. 13 email from City Attorney Tammy White saying that their initiative might not be valid to qualify for the ballot and that the council has the power to change how voters elect council members.

White, in the email, obtained by the Kent Reporter through a public records request, said the initiative refers to the Washington Voting Rights Act as a method to put the measure on the ballot but that requires a violation of state law in council formation or a court order and neither of those exist.

Kent For Districts said the email from the city attorney was “attempting to dissuade us and our supporters.”

White said in her email the city Law Department wasn’t taking a stance about the proposal to change to districts, but that “as public officials we have an obligation to ensure our governance structure conforms to the requirements of state law.”