The group aiming to repeal the Healthy Children’s Fund (Proposition 5) tax in Whatcom County has appealed a Sept. 3 decision that kept the repeal initiative off the general election ballot.
Passed in 2022 by only 20 votes, Proposition 5 lifted the limit on property taxes to fund child care and early learning programs, and increased support for vulnerable children. The fund is expected to bring in a total of $100 million by its renewal date in 2032. Washingtonians for a Sound Economy brought forward the Prop 5 repeal initiative in an effort to lower property taxes.
A group in favor of the Healthy Children’s Fund, Protect Whatcom Kids, filed an injunction in August to prevent the initiative from going on the November ballot, saying it was procedurally and substantially invalid.
In her Sept. 3 decision, Judge Lee Grochmal of Whatcom County Superior Court said the initiative was procedurally sound but its substance was invalid, and ordered the injunction.
Grochmal said the initiative would hinder plans adopted by the county and could interfere with contracts already in place. She agreed with the plaintiff’s argument that implementation of the Healthy Children’s Fund is administrative in nature, not legislative, so a citizens’ initiative is not the proper way to stop the program.
Lynden business owner Tim Koetje, one of the financial backers of the repeal campaign, filed an appeal in the Washington Supreme Court on Oct. 17, saying the ruling was an error because the original lawsuit wasn’t filed within 10 days of ballot language approval.
Ashley Butenschoen, a communications volunteer with Washingtonians for a Sound Economy, said in a statement that the court decision “defied logic and common sense.”
“We are hopeful that the state Supreme Court will vindicate this right and see this attack on democracy for what it is — an attempt to silence the voices of thousands of people in Whatcom County,” Butenschoen said.
The appeal is being handled by attorney Jackson Maynard of Maynard Law PLLC in Olympia. If Koetje’s appeal is successful, the initiative to repeal the Healthy Children’s Fund could be placed on the ballot in a future election.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
