We oppose the Recall campaign against Councilmember Kshama Sawant
Tuesday night, Feb. 16, we passed a resolution supporting Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant with 82.5% of the votes casted in favor.
“We have stood behind Councilmember Sawant before, and there is no reason for us to stop now—in fact, quite the opposite,” 43rd Democrats Chair Scott Alspach says. “It is shameful to see such an undemocratic and retaliatory effort led by the same upper-class in Seattle who perpetuated racist and misogynistic attacks against Sawant for years. As a Council District 3 resident myself, I call on fellow Democrats to join me in opposition to the Recall effort.”
43rd District Democrats have previously endorsed Sawant for her successful re-election campaign in 2019. During that campaign, Sawant faced PAC opponents and flyers led by former Councilmember and ex-police officer Tim Burgess. The petition’s allegations mirror Mayor Jenny Durkan’s, a former federal prosecutor who had wrongfully imprisoned and prosecuted protesters that were out of town. Given her responses to the summer events of 2020, we have previously called on Durkan to resign. Both the Recall petition and Durkan weaponize Sawant’s support for Black Lives Matter, claiming she led a march to Durkan’s house which was in fact led by people of color in Seattle’s grassroots organizing communities.
Prominent people in Seattle’s business community are among those who lead the Recall effort and have long opposed Sawant’s stances. Her own 2019 opponent, Egan Orion—who was backed by large businesses and corporations, like Amazon, and the aforementioned PAC—gave the emails of his campaign’s supporters to the Recall effort.
"I had the pleasure of being a colleague with Councilmember Sawant for six years,” former Councilmember Mike O'Brien said during the meeting. “Don't get confused by the rhetoric of people who disagree with her policy that she's 'hard to work with.' She's committed to her values and when those values align, she is a great ally. She doesn't make the easy compromises that have bogged down our political system and put us where we are."
“As you know, this right wing recall campaign is an attack on all progressives,” Sawant said after the 43rd Democrats’ vote. “It's an attack on Black Lives Matter and all Seattle’s working people. It is a-right wing, big business effort not only to overturn a democratic election, but also our many victories."
