Tumwater voters will have their say on fireworks – for real this time

Tumwater voters will have their say on the issue of fireworks when they receive their ballot shortly.  It must be mailed back by April 24.    Didn’t we just vote on fireworks, some have asked?   Yes and No is the answer.   Lets go back to 2015.

The Tumwater City Council was considering banning fireworks within the city limits of Tumwater, but they wanted to gauge the feeling of the residents.   So they put an advisory ballot before the voters in 2015.   The ballot was advisory only.   The council was not required to respond in any way to the advisory ballot.

There were more than 11,000 votes cast – almost evenly divided by those who wanted to keep fireworks and those who wanted to ban them.   The measure banning fireworks passed by only 70 votes.  If the city mothers and fathers were looking for direction – they didn’t find it in the advisory vote.

Those who wanted to keep fireworks legal in Tumwater asked to meet with city officials and work out some sort of compromise plan.   Tumwater  councilmembers refused to meet with fireworks advocates and a few months later, passed a law banning all fireworks in the city.

Enter the fireworks industry and a group of  Tumwater residents who wanted to keep their fireworks.  In order to get the ban on the ballot, they had to turn in petitions with 2500 signatures of Tumwater residents.   They turned in more than 3000 signatures.

So, the issue is now up to the voters of Tumwater.  This time their vote really means something.

If the group is successful in Tumwater, they have indicated they may do the same thing in Lacey, where a similar ban on fireworks has been on the books since residents barely approved such a restriction there several years ago.