Kind of rich to call Durkan’s neighborhood Rich-E-Rich when Kshama lives in Leschi, not exactly a prole neighborhood. Sawant, as the first socialist to win a citywide Seattle election in nearly a century, became a national figure overnight.She quickly gained a reputation as agitator-in-chief, deploying tactics in City Hall that echo those of tense labor negotiations.When listing Sawant's achievements on the council, supporters often point to the minimum wage win and new tenant protections, such as the requirement that landlords bring their apartments up to code before they can raise rents, as well as the cap on move-in fees. (Anyone thinking of running in the 3rd council district should stop hyperventilating, though. The pair divorced in 2014. Only one other council member has proposed such an aggressive use of the city or King County's credit card: Sawant, repeatedly, including last year, when she called for $480 million in bonds to be repaid via a new revenue source.Budget keepers have discouraged such a large proposal as a risk to Seattle's credit rating. She is an activist and works for the public. Sawant also points to the $29 million in housing bonds the city took out in 2016.More recently, many of her fights are about stopping something from happening — the repeal of the head tax, approval of a new contract for rank-and-file police officers. "The businesses that I've been working with for years on Capitol Hill were like, 'We're part of this chamber too, right?'
When asked how those loans would be repaid, Orion said the city could pay it off by dipping into the general fund over a number of years. Part of that is a promise that Orion will be the candidate who will follow the lead of community members and collaborate with colleagues. She herself lives in an $800,000 home with $500,000 of equity but has railed against the gentrification of Seattle. Spending by independent political action committees is way up, with new groups like "People for Seattle" — led by former Councilmember Tim Burgess — raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. The success of that effort validated her strategy of agitating the electorate into upending the status quo into action. “Having been a small business advocate the last couple of years, I've gotten intimate with those issues.”Orion’s website displays endorsements from the real estate and hospitality advocacy organizations, and he says he’s more willing to entertain those industries' complaints than most of the sitting council. Well, I don't really want her to get along," said Kathy Yasi, a child care provider in the Central District mingling one afternoon in Cal Anderson Park, as about 30 Sawant volunteers pumped themselves up to knock on doors for their candidate.
Kshama Sawant is a Seattle Washington, activist and politician. "It’s not us-versus-them, it’s just us, which frankly is how the nonpartisan city council is supposed to behave," said state Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, whose district includes Capitol Hill. For her income, she only took the average worker’s salary. When she was 13 years old, her father died in a car accident. This week was the deadline for Council members to file their annual financial disclosure forms. (Lindsey Wasson for Crosscut)Closing out her first term four years ago, Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant was riding high.Sawant had the momentum of the city's newly adopted $15 minimum wage. Council Member Kshama Sawant estimates her net worth at $490,000 and list an income from both her city council position and as a political organizer for Socialist Alternative, her political party, which pays her between $10,000 and $25,000 a year. It’s just ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous. Sawant was born in India and moved to the United States after graduating from college when her husband was hired by Microsoft. Kshama Sawant, the socialist on the Seattle City Council, is up for re-election, and the Establishment is determined to defeat her and the ideas she champions before they spread. She was previously a staff photographer at The Seattle Times.Let's transform the Seattle Police Department by addressing both racial injustice and the enduring need for fair and effective policing. "You know, we're constantly talking about in this race, 'Oh, Kshama is a movement leader,' " Orion said. (Lindsey Wasson for Crosscut)This oft-used attack on Sawant — that she doesn’t play nice with others — doesn’t land with her supporters.