Christopher Sandford. District 3 Councilmember Kshama Sawant announces bid for third term Socialist Alternative member pledges to fight for people, against corporate interests Photo by Brandon Macz: District 3 Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant announces her re-election campaign at Saba Ethiopian Cuisine on Thursday, Jan. 24. Kshama Sawant Says Socialism Isn’t ‘Only in Seattle ... it was for her then-husband’s job—at Microsoft. [33][34] On January 27, 2014, she announced that she would live on $40,000 of her $117,000 salary. Kshama Sawant, 46, who now serves on the Seattle City Council, is encouraging activists in the CHAZ 'to hold out on giving back the precinct to cops'. Dori shows that according to the evidence, Sawant's donations come back to benefit her. [18] Washington state law allowed her to choose the election in which she would run, but as a write-in candidate, she was not permitted to state her party preference. Rosemary Daniels a graphic designer with the re elect Sawant campaign was also listed. She represents the poor, the immigrants, the refugees—the folks who are not in our City Council offices lobbying us. "[46] Banks' campaign said that Sawant was out of touch with her constituents, too busy to meet with them, and that Sawant's strident political positions were divisive, alienating potential allies. [37], Sawant advocates for a moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants from Seattle and granting unconditional citizenship for all persons currently in the United States without citizenship. [15][16] She was also a visiting assistant professor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Either way, bills would have been paid and filed at the end of the effort in July. [6][7][8] Her mother is a retired principal and her father, a civil engineer, was killed by a drunk driver when she was 13 years old. We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. Marxist Seattle Council Member Kshama Sawant has been funneling money from the "Tax Amazon" campaign to her husband and members of her political group, The Socialist Alternative. Sawant faced ethics charges in 2019 for allowing the Socialist Alternative to make decisions for her council office. Payroll taxes are approximately 7 percent of wages paid. Kshama Sawant. Kshama Sawant is not a career politician. [46] The Seattle Times, in their endorsement of Banks, said the City Council "isn't a job for an ideologue" and that "the District 3 seat is more than a podium", that it "needs a collaborative leader to work with other districts and balance resources and investment. On Nov. 1, with a few hundred people at her side, the feisty Indian-American member of the Seattle City Council led an overnight campout at City Hall to demand an end to the city’s “brutal demolition” of unsanctioned encampments of the homeless, actions known as “sweeps.” The incredibly popular socialist leader’s fans — most also Seattle taxpayers — are giving to the cause, too. According to SCC insight "Sawant and Priest had over $13,000 of travel paid for them over the course of 2017: $1,850 by 'Movement for the 99 percent' and $11,176 by Socialist Alternative. [18] Sawant also ran and advanced past the primaries as a write-in win for Position 2. disagreements, "do not justify a council member who potentially uses their position in violation of law or who recklessly undermines the safety of others, all for political theatre. Check out smart independent objective Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1. Kshama Sawant (pronounced “ SHAH-mah sah-WANT “) is a 41-year-old part-time economics instructor at Seattle Central Community College. Be bold. Subscribe Now! [79] Following a June 20 shooting in the zone that left one man dead and another critically wounded,[80] Sawant said there were "indications that this may have been a right-wing attack," for which President Trump would bear "direct responsibility, since he has fomented reactionary hatred specifically against the peaceful Capitol Hill occupation". [67][68] She also advocated on LGBT, women's, and people of color issues, and opposed cuts to education and other social programs. She is an activist who brings a passion for social justice to her work as a public servant. While Sawant and her allies have been profiting off the campaign, businesses in Seattle continue to flee. [20][37] Her campaign for a $15 an hour minimum wage has been credited for bringing the issue into the mainstream and attracting support for the policy from both Seattle former Mayors Michael McGinn and Ed Murray. The Seattle City Council passed the Jump Start Seattle legislation aka the Amazon Tax in July and yet these payments were listed on the August filing. A new marriage won’t be the only change for the firebrand progressive. The last two listed on the filing are Hannah Swoboda and Joe Sugrue. "[84], Sawant is often reticent to speak about her personal life and background, preferring to stick to the issues. Her reported marriage to a high-powered Microsoft engineer, Vivek Sawant, raised eyebrows given how she railed against the gentrification of Seattle. Please take a minute to sign One of those three is Calvin Priest, Sawant’s husband: Priest was drawing about $2,100 per month on the Tax Amazon campaign as recently as August, and then mid-September switched over to the Kshama Solidarity Campaign where in his first six weeks he was paid over $3,500. Thanks a lot, Bill. [21] On November 15, 2013, Conlin conceded to Sawant when returns showed him down by 1,640 votes or approximately 1% of the vote. Oct. 10, 2019 at 6:00 am Updated Oct. 24, 2019 at 2:01 pm . ... Sawant Twitter. SurePayroll has been itemized for over $20,000 of expenditures in the last three months and yet the campaign has not disclosed who the recipients of that money is. [54] The PAC supported Sawant's opponent in the race. [10] She received her PhD in economics from North Carolina State University in 2003. The City of Seattle is covering the legal costs in Kshama Sawant’s fight against a recall campaign. As the end of the year approaches, we here at Shift would like to share the Top 10 most absurd things Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant—who it’s often hard to distinguish from the typical liberal Democrat but is a self-proclaimed socialist—has done and/or said in 2014. "[58] In response, Sawant accused Durkan of being the leader of a "pro-corporate political establishment" and of carrying out "an attack on working people's movements. "[63], In 2013, Sawant urged other left-wing groups, including Greens and trade unions, "to use her campaign as a model to inspire a much broader movement. This is not the first time Seattle taxpayers have been asked to foot the bill for Sawant's legal bills. The most recent filing with the Public Disclosure Commission for the Tax Amazon campaign included Sawant's husband Calvin Priest who works for The Socialist Alternative. Durkan calls on Seattle City Council to investigate Kshama Sawant, consider action against her Becca Savransky , Seattle P-I June 30, 2020 Updated: Sep. 17, 2020 5:01 p.m. https://sccinsight.com/2020/11/17/the-sawant-recall-a-tale-of-two-campaigns [42], On April 7, 2015, journalist Chris Hedges endorsed Sawant. Sawant’s home is also valued at over a million dollars. [9] During her 2013 campaign for the Seattle City Council, she indicated that she and her husband had been separated for nearly six years. She called this "economic terrorism" and said in several speeches that if the company moved jobs out of state, the workers should take over its facilities and bring them into public ownership. [28] Celebrity endorsements included Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian. Businesses that relied on tech foot traffic in Seattle have been suffering and closing since the coronavirus shutdowns. After passing the “Amazon Tax,” Seattle City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant went on this unhinged rant. organizations that are growing all the time like The Post Millennial. Sawant vs. Orion in their own words on District 3 issues - housing, homelessness, public safety, and the environment", "Retirement Plans And Saving Decisions: The Role Of Information And Education", "Washington socialist candidate wins suit to state party preference", "Legislative District 43 : Rep Position 2", "Socialist Kshama Sawant wins Seattle City Council seat", "Conlin Concedes to Socialist Sawant in Seattle Council Race", "Coming home to Carkeek – Carkeek Park, celebrating its 75th birthday, has seen some hard times. [31] Councilman Nick Licata also declined to endorse her but spoke positively of her campaign saying, "she has been able to craft a message that is understandable, simple and eschews most of the rhetoric", and when her eventual election victory seemed unlikely, he expressed his hope that Sawant would not "disappear after the election if she loses. She has said they could be converted into multiple uses, such as production for mass transit. https://spectator.com.au/2020/10/bad-kshama-meet-seattles-worst-socialist Kshama Sawant (/kʃʌmɑː sɑːˈwʌnt/; born October 17, 1973)[1][2] is an American politician and economist who has served on the Seattle City Council since 2014. Sawant owns a home worth between $200,000 and a million dollars and is married to Calvin Priest, who works for an organization called 15 Now. As noted by SCC Insight the Socialist Alternative "for many years it was registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(4) 'social welfare organization.' [38], Sawant's platform of non-local Seattle issues, like rent control, income tax, corporate welfare, supporting the minimum wage outside Seattle, in SeaTac, and other cities, and participating in the Seattle Arctic drilling protests drew as much criticism from Sawant's opponents as it won favor with her liberal supporters. On Nov. 1, with a few hundred people at her side, the feisty Indian-American member of the Seattle City Council led an overnight campout at City Hall to demand an end to the city’s “brutal demolition” of unsanctioned encampments of the homeless, actions known as “sweeps.” Jorge Mujica, Kshama Sawant and local activist Carlos Arango following an April 4 public meeting in Chicago. Both work with Sawant's Socialist Alternative. The drama on both her political and personal battlefields have repeatedly landed Kshama Sawant in the spotlight. Amazon became increasingly involved in city council politics after the passage of the Seattle head tax in 2018, which would have cost the company $11 million annually in order to fund public housing and homeless services. [73][74] Sawant maintains that a socialist economy cannot exist in a single country and must be a global system just as capitalism today is a global system. Marxist Seattle Council Member Kshama Sawant has been funneling money from the "Tax Amazon" campaign to her husband and members of her political group, The Socialist Alternative. The drama on both her political and personal battlefields have repeatedly landed Kshama Sawant in the spotlight. The 2019 Seattle City Council election gained national attention after Amazon spent an unprecedented $1.5 million on the campaign. [18] Sawant challenged incumbent House speaker Frank Chopp in the general election on November 6, 2012. "[32], During her campaign, Sawant said that, if elected, she would donate the portion of her salary as a City Council member that exceeded the average salary in Seattle. Strongly supports requiring a $15 minimum wage for all workers in Seattle. In the past, Sawant claimed  that she would only take $40,000 a year an "ordinary worker’s salary" and gives the rest of her City Council salary to a "solidarity fund" to help build social justice movements. The State Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision Thursday in Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s appeal of the recall case against her. In the past, Sawant claimed … She wants the city to establish limits on rent rates and increases. (Anyone thinking of running in the 3rd council district should stop hyperventilating, though. As of April 2018, salaries of council members are authorized to be $62.11 per hour, an increase of 5% from 2017. Kshama Sawant. 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