Attempts to recall Seattle City Councilman Kshama Sawant are getting preliminary results.
As of press time, the recall success rate is 53.1% to 46.9%.
The 48-year-old Indian immigration and economics professor Kshama Sawant is the longest-term board member. Since starting her political career under the banner of the Socialist Alternative Party in 2012, she has had a huge influence on the tone and direction of Seattle politics when she failed to run for state representative.
She was elected to the city council the following year. She threatened to launch a voter initiative requiring an immediate minimum wage of $15. This was considered to put pressure on business leaders and then Mayor Ed Murray to reach an agreement to raise wages. To 15 dollars. year. Seattle was the first major city in the United States to adopt such measures.
But critics say that her rhetoric is more than substance, and that her reckless behavior is incompatible with good governance.
For example, Seattle and other cities are prohibited by state law from adopting rent control. Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that two Seattle police officers can sue Sawant for defamation because she claimed that they were involved in a fatal shooting as a “flagrant murder.”
The question of the removal on the ballot cited three allegations-Savant admitted and paid a fine for it, a minor campaign financial violation; she allegedly led the way to the mayor Jenny Durkan (Jenny Durkan) The protest march at home, even though Durkan’s address was protected by the state secrecy law due to her previous role as a federal prosecutor; and she decided to let a group of protesters in during the city hall that was closed due to the pandemic.
Sawant denied leading the parade to Durkan’s home, although she did participate in the parade.
After George Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis police, she defended her decision to let “black life and life” demonstrators enter the city hall. She said the protesters only stayed inside for an hour, and it was important to see them in the hall of power.
The latest voting statistics from the King County Election (KCE) show that approximately 41% of voters participated in the recall. In other words, KCE estimates that the final turnout rate may be close to 50%. To overcome this problem, Savant needs to win about two-thirds of the remaining votes.
