Backers of SeaTac wage initiative appeal judge's decision, submit more signatures

SEATTLE -- A group behind a $15-an-hour minimum wage in SeaTac appealed a King County judge's decision to strip it from the November ballot and also submitted 250 more voter signatures to the city in order to get it back on the ballot, it was reported Tuesday.

The Seattle Times said the group "Yes! For SeaTac", which is sponsoring what is known as the Good Jobs Initiative, appealed the decision of King County Superior Court Andrea Darvas to the Court of Appeals and asked for an emergency ruling.

On Monday, Darvas reversed the decision by the SeaTac City Clerk’s Office and King County Elections to allow the measure to go on the ballot, saying the initiative is “not supported by the required number of valid signatures of registered voters.”

Darvas said the city of SeaTac and the city clerk “are prohibited, and must desist and refrain, from sending the initiative to King County,” and must take “whatever actions are required to withdraw and remove the measure from processing by the King County Elections Department” and not place the measure on the ballot.

The judge said that if the signatures of 61 people who signed the petition more than once are removed, then there are not enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

But the group supporting the measure said that when a duplicate signature was found, both versions of the signature were thrown out. The initiative ended up 17 signatures short of the required 1,536 needed to put it on the November ballot, the group said.

So the group submitted 250 more signatures to the city Tuesday in the hope they can salvage the measure for the ballot.

To read the full decision by Darvas, click here (PDF file).