‘Do it the right way’: Gee and Ursula back Pierce County crackdown on unpermitted food vendors

Pierce County is considering a crackdown on unpermitted food vendors, and KIRO hosts Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin said the proposal protects public health and the businesses that follow the rules.

Pierce County Councilmember Dave Morell said vendors without health permits can sell potentially unsafe food and undercut businesses that follow the rules. His proposal would restrict where and when unpermitted vendors can operate. It would ban them from public streets and sidewalks and prohibit them from operating between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

The proposal would also let the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office enforce the rules and impound equipment. Owners could face a gross misdemeanor, up to $5,000 in penalties and as much as 364 days in jail.

Ursula asked whether the proposal is about public health and fairness or goes too far. Gee said it goes as far as it should.

“No, it goes exactly where it’s supposed to go,” Gee said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Gee supports hustlers but says permits matter

Gee said he admires people who work hard to build a business. But he argued that unpermitted vendors shouldn’t get to skip the requirements brick-and-mortar businesses must meet.

“You can’t have business owners, brick-and-mortar folks that are paying for all of the right permits, crossing T’s, dotting i’s — they’re doing everything right while you have other folks that are unlicensed going out there doing their thing and just setting up shop,” Gee said.

He pointed to recent business closures and the risk of getting sick from food sold without a health permit.

“You get sick, and your little Joey and little Sarah get sick, what you gonna do? Nothing, because that person’s unlicensed,” Gee said.

He rejected the idea that supporting the proposal means opposing people trying to get ahead.

“If you want to make it, it’s simple,” Gee said.

“Do it the right way,” Ursula added.

Ursula calls for even enforcement of food vendors

Ursula agreed with Gee. She acknowledged concerns that some vendors may be targeted unfairly and said the rules should be enforced evenly.

“If you don’t have a permit, this is not good,” she said. “I mean, the food might taste good temporarily until something goes wrong.”

She also understood why permitted business owners would be frustrated.

“If I have a business, whether it’s brick and mortar or another truck, that I had to go through all the hoops, I would be hacked off if someone else is able to just set up shop and not have to go through all that,” Ursula said.

Gee and Ursula say rules protect businesses doing things right

Gee agreed that some vendors may be singled out. Still, he said the proposal addresses a real issue.

“It’s about public health,” Gee said. “And it’s about the brick and mortar that’s paying their taxes the right way, have their health permit, going through the license process.”

He argued that letting unpermitted vendors operate without consequences could weaken other owners’ motivation to follow the rules.

“When you start seeing them down the street do that, what is motivating them to continue to do things the right way?” Gee asked.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.