The discharging of personal fireworks in SeaTac will remain illegal after voters on Feb. 6 overwhelmingly rejected a new fireworks ordinance.

In unofficial results released Feb. 12, King County Elections officials reported 962 votes (39.64 percent) in favor of the ordinance and 1,465 (60.36 percent) against.

The proposed ordinance would have loosened regulations beyond what was in place before lawmakers approved a total ban.

The proposed law was placed on the ballot after supporters submitted a petition containing the valid signatures of 1,626 registered SeaTac voters, according to county elections officials.

City Manager Craig Ward said fireworks industry officials sponsored the petition drive.

City council members refused on Oct. 10 to adopt the proposed ordinance, so it automatically went on the Feb. 6 election ballot.

Lawmakers also declined to authorize the county elections department to publish a voters guide with pro and con statements.

Officials estimated the single-issue election cost the city about $30,000.

"That's the cost of democracy," Mayor Gene Fisher declared.

Fisher said a number of people had come to the council asking for a fireworks ban. In passing the ban, Fisher added lawmakers thought they were enacting the will of a majority of SeaTac residents. The election results bore out the council members' assessment, according to Fisher.

The mayor noted that only about 900 of the 1,600 petition signers cast ballots for the proposed ordinance.

If the fireworks ordinance had passed, only SeaTac voters could have amended or repealed it later.

SeaTac staffers were careful to remain officially neutral during the fireworks election. During a September election campaign on a proposed property tax hike for fire services, former Mayor Frank Hansen filed a Public Disclosure Commission complaint claiming that city officials illegally advocated the tax hike in flyers and on the city's government access cable channel.

Fireworks for licensed shows such as those put on by Angle Lake property owners and religious displays are allowed under SeaTac's current ban.

Burien and Tukwila ban all fireworks while North Highline limits their use to July 4. Fireworks are allowed in Normandy Park from June 28 to July 5.

Despite SeaTac's ban, youths playing with fireworks during last year's Independence Day weekend were blamed for a spectacular fire that destroyed the old Boulevard Park School building

The rejected law would have allowed the discharge of fireworks in the city July 3-5 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1 with time restrictions. "Safe and sane" fireworks could also have been discharged June 28 through July 5 and Dec. 27 through Dec. 31.

Updated election results will be printed in the Feb. 21 Times/News and are also available at www.metrokc.gov/elections/200702/results.asp.