The Tacoma City Council met on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 1:15 PM. The meeting included ceremonial items, public comment on multiple agenda items, and action on several resolutions and ordinances. Key topics included a proclamation for Mayors for Peace Day, proposed changes to community forum rules, and publication of criteria for unclassified city positions.
I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of June 9, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll. Deputy Mayor Bushnell. Present. Councilmember Diaz. Councilmember Hines. Councilmember Palmer. Absent Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalgay? Here. Councilmember Scott? Here. Councilmember Walker. Here, Mayor Ibsen. Here. Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Deputy Mayor Bushnell, filed by a moment of silence. We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Puala people where they make their home and speak the Lashutsi language. Please stand for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment of silence. Are there any modifications to the agenda this evening? Seeing none, we'll move on to the consent agenda. Is there a motion? I move to adopt the consent agenda, including resolutions number 41925 through 41927. Move and second. Are there any uh questions, comments, or corrections? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye. I. Those opposed to say nay. Consent agenda is declared adopted. Moving on, we have one ceremonial tonight proclaiming Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 as Mayors for Peace Day. For the Mayors for Peace proclamation, I'd like to invite Mr. Sean Arendt, nuclear weapons abolition program manager, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility to the podium as I read the proclamation. Whereas the City of Tacoma is committed to peace, human dignity, and protecting present and future generations from the catastrophic catastrophic consequences of war, and whereas more than 12,000 nuclear weapons remain in global arsenals today, many far more destructive than those used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and the detonation of even a small number of these weapons could cause catastrophic humanitarian, environmental, economic, and public health consequences worldwide. And whereas growing geopolitical instability, the erosion of arms control agreements, continued hair trigger nuclear alert policies, and the ongoing modernization of nuclear arsenals increase the risk of accidental, intentional, or unauthorized nuclear conflict. And whereas the immense financial resources dedicated to maintaining and expanding nuclear weapons programs could instead support urgent community needs, including housing, health care, climate resilience, infrastructure, education, and public safety, and whereas cities and local governments would be among the first and most severely affected by any nuclear attack. And local leaders have a responsibility to advocate for diplomacy, nuclear risk reduction, and policies that protect human life and planetary health. Now, therefore, I Andrews Ibsen, Mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, June 9th, 2026, as Mayors for Peace Day in the City of Tacoma, and reaffirm Tacoma's commitment to advocating alongside communities around the world to advance peace, reduce nuclear risks, and advocate for policies through actions like Back from the Brink. We further call upon national leaders to pursue diplomacy, strengthen arms control agreements, reduce the role of nuclear weapons and national security policy, and take meaningful steps to prevent nuclear catastrophe and move toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Please say a few words. Thank you, Mayor Ibsen and uh Tacoma City Council. Um, as you mentioned, my name is Sean Aaron. I am the uh Nuclear Weapons Abolition Program Manager for the Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. Uh my organization and its affiliate PSR received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for our advocacy against nuclear weapons. On June 12, 1982, a million people marched in the streets of New York City with millions more around the nation, demanding a freeze on the production of nuclear weapons. They were successful. In 1986, the U.S. and Soviet Union agreed to dismantle 20,000 nuclear weapons, and the START Treaty was signed in 1991, which capped the deployment of ready-to-launch nuclear weapons. In February of this year, the new START treaty expired with hardly a mention or sign of renewal. The government plans to produce 200 new plutonium bomb cores a year by 2030, and we are on pace to bring new nuclear weapons and trident submarines to Puget Sound by 2032. And the public, frankly, is hardly aware.