Ballot Title
Shall the Seattle City Charter be amended to replace all exclusively male gender references with gender-neutral references, and shall various articles and sections of said charter be amended accordingly?
Voter-Pamphlet Explanation
The Charter as it Exists Now
Some sections of the City Charter, which was first adopted in 1946, still contain exclusively male gender references. For example, the Mayor and other City officers are referred to as "he," councilmembers are referred to as "councilmen," police officers are referred to as "policemen," and so forth. Such references have been replaced by gender-neutral references in some charter sections as those sections have been amended. However, not all charter sections have been changed to make their language gender neutral.
The Effect of the Proposition if Adopted
The City Charter would be amended so that all exclusively male gender references would be replaced with gender-neutral references. For example, "he" would generally be changed to "he or she," "councilman" would be changed to "councilmember," "policeman" would be changed to "police officer," and so forth. Some sentences could be rewritten to avoid awkward constructions, such as the repeated use of "he or she" or "his or her."