Council sets pro and con committees for Proposition 1; city attorney warns public about RCW 42.17.555 restrictions during public comment
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Summary
The council appointed six residents to the pro and con committees for the Nov. 4, 2025 Proposition 1 levy lid lift ballot measure and the city attorney explained state law limits the use of public facilities to promote or oppose ballot measures during meetings.
The Lake Forest Park City Council on Thursday formally appointed three residents to each the pro and con committees that will submit statements to the county voter pamphlet for Proposition 1, the city’s proposed public safety services levy lid lift on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot.
Cliff McLain read the names the city received for the committees: pro committee members Fiaz Mier, Peter Eglich and David Hammond; con committee members Jack Tonkin, Elizabeth Chappell and Hannah Blackburn. A council motion to appoint the six members passed unanimously.
Separately, the mayor opened public comment by reading a warning about state campaign law: “State law, RCW 42.17.555 does not allow the use of public facilities to promote or oppose ballot measures. Promoting or opposing the city's levy lid lift ballot measure during a council meeting would be use of a public facility in violation of state law. This includes comments made during the public comment section of a council meeting.” City Attorney Pratt then explained the statute to attendees and said the restriction applies to use of city facilities, employees and meeting time, but does not prevent individuals from speaking for or against a measure on their own time.
Resident Nate Herzog used public comment to question the city’s calculation of tax impacts for the levy and asked the council to reconsider recent actions, saying the city “did not calculate the numbers correctly in terms of the tax burden… the impact is going to be much greater than what's advertised.” The council did not discuss or modify the levy resolution at the meeting; staff set up the pro and con committees only to meet the county’s voter pamphlet process.
Council members emphasized the appointments were self‑nominations and that the council did not select the names. The pro and con statements and any rebuttals the committees submit will be published in the county voter pamphlet per the normal process.