Les Misérables Federal Way - The Petition (CI 24-003)

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Revised Code Amendment: 

The People of the City of Federal Way, exercising their power to amend the Federal Way Revised Code by popular vote under Chapter 1.30, Section 1.30.180 of the Revised Code, and under the general provisions of Chapter 1.30 of the Revised Code, enact the following Amendment to the Federal Way Revised Code, Title 2, Chapter 2.08.  Thereby, changing the system of electing members of the Federal Way City Council from the totally at-large electoral system to a mixed system in which one (1) City Councilmember is elected at-large and six (6) City Councilmembers are elected by wards (or districts), enabling every neighborhood in the city to have at least one Councilmember, their own ward (or district) Councilmember, to be in close proximity to where they live and increasing the chances that at least one Councilmember has a practical connection to his or her constituents.  In amending sections, removals are in strikeout, additions are underlined except the electronic processing of this Amendment may interdict the underlining of commas or certain commas, so in cases where added commas begin or end around underlined phrases, they are in bold; Revised Code Amendment section headers are in Bold Italics.

Section 1.  Federal Way Revised Code, Chapter 2.08, Section 2.08.010, is amended as follows:
FWRC, Chapter 2.08, City Council
Sec. 2.08.010, Number of Council Members
The city of Federal Way is a noncharter code city under the laws of the state, and to provide a mixed system of ward (or district) and at-large representation, its city council shall consist of seven members [deleted - who shall be elected at large.], with position 7 elected from the city at-large and positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 elected by wards (or districts).

Section 2.  A new section is added to the Federal Way Revised Code, Chapter 2.08, as follows:
FWRC, Chapter 2.08, City Council
New Sec.  2.08.60 Eligibility
No person shall be eligible for membership in the City Council unless he or she shall be a citizen of the United States and a qualified elector of the State of Washington and a registered voter and a resident of The City of Federal Way from at least one year prior to his or her election (or prior to appointment) through the term of service.  A ward (or district) member shall be a resident of the ward (or district) represented, in accordance with RCW 35A.12.180.

Section 3.  A new section is added to the Federal Way Revised Code, Chapter 2.08, as follows:
FWRC, Chapter 2.08, City Council
New Sec.  2.08.70 Districting Commission
By April 30th 2026, or by sixty (60) days from passage of ordinance, whichever occurs last, and thereafter by each April 30th of the second year after the preceding United States Census year (e.g., April 30th 2032 after Census year 2030), a five-member Districting Commission shall be appointed; the Mayor shall appoint two members and by a two-thirds vote the Council shall appoint three members.  The Commission shall elect a Chair from among its members.  All members of the Commission must be residents of The City of Federal Way.  No person may serve on the Commission who is a registered lobbyist, a City employee, a candidate for political office, or an elected official (except precinct committee officer).  All vacancies of members heretofore on the Commission shall be appointed by the Mayor within 15 days of the vacancy, with concurrence by a simple majority vote of the Council.

The Districting Commission shall no later than sixty (60) days after appointment, or April 30th, whichever occurs first (except no later than twenty [20] days if appointment occurs after April 30th), appoint a districting master who shall be qualified by education and training, or experience, to draw a districting plan.  If the Commission is unable to agree upon the appointment of a districting master by April 30th (or by 20 days of appointment if appointment occurs after April 30th), the Mayor shall appoint a districting master.  All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public.  The first Districting Commission shall vote on whether to name City wards (or districts) "wards" or "districts"; that name shall not be changed thereafter except by a unanimous vote of the Districting Commission after the next Census or Censuses.  The districting master shall draw a district plan for the City and submit it to the Commission by November 1st.  A draft of the district plan shall be made available to the public by the Commission, and after public comment, voted on by the Commission, with a majority vote adopting the plan.  Upon adoption, the plan shall be filed with the City Clerk.  The plan adopted by the Commission shall be effective upon filing with the City Clerk and cannot be amended by the City Council (or the Mayor) except to correct data errors upon the request of the Commission.

The entirety of the City shall be drawn into six (6) wards (or districts), in accordance with Chapter 29A.76 RCW.

The City Council shall take all steps necessary to enable the Districting Commission to function, including appropriations sufficient to provide compensation for staff and contractors, reasonable expenses, and a reasonable per diem for Commission members except per diem is optional if the Council deems Commission membership as voluntary.

Section 4.  A new section is added to the Federal Way Revised Code, Chapter 2.08, as follows:
FWRC, Chapter 2.08, City Council
New Sec.  2.08.80 Transition Provisions
To implement the change in the electoral system by Section 1 of this Amendment, the provisions of this Section shall be applied after passage of ordinance, in accordance with Title 35A RCW, RCW 35A.12.180 and RCW 29A.92.050, and, thereby, the invocation of a voluntary change to the electoral system under RCW 29A.92.040.

Subject to the provisions of RCW 35A.12.040, Councilmember position 7, created by Section 1 of this Amendment, elected at the 2027 general municipal election, shall be elected at-large and shall be for a two-year term ending on December 31, 2029; subsequent to the 2027 general municipal election, Councilmember position 7 shall be for a four-year term.

Councilmember positions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, created by Section 1 of this Amendment, elected at the 2027 general municipal election, shall be elected by districts and shall be for four-year terms ending on December 31, 2031.  

The provisions of this Revised Code Amendment shall be effective not later than thirty (30) days after final passage.

Section 5.  A new section is added to the Federal Way Revised Code, Chapter 2.08, as follows:
FWRC, Chapter 2.08, City Council
New Sec.  2.08.90 Liberal Construction; Severability
The provisions of this Amendment are to be liberally construed to achieve its purposes.  If any provision of this Amendment or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Amendment or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.