A recall effort against a socialist Seattle city councilwoman will move forward, according to the King County Elections agency.
Sawant is facing a recall because of her alleged misconduct during the Black Lives Matter-inspired race riots in 2020.
Demonstrators have entered Seattle City Hall. Speakers are addressing the crowd and are continuing to call for @MayorJenny to resign. pic.twitter.com/6dWqFvrX0J
— Ted Land (@TedLandK5) June 10, 2020
After she led hundreds of rioters into Seattle’s City Hall and to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s private home, the Washington Supreme Court concluded that Sawant could be recalled if she “failed to comply with public disclosure requirements.”
The King County Election Agency said more than 11,000 signatures were added to a petition to recall Kshama Sawant, a member of the Socialist Alternative Party, from her position on the Seattle City Council.
That is more than the 10,687 minimum needed from Sawant’s district to hold the recall election.
The election agency tentatively set the recall election for Dec. 7 but said it will not confirm the date until it finishes certifying the signatures.
“We are doing some cleanup, data entry and quality control today and expect to certify the petition” later this week, agency spokesperson Halei Watkins said, according to the Seattle Times.
Sawant’s team has accused the residents who want to recall her of being in the pocket of “Big Business.”
“Last weekend, progressive Democrats turned up to unite against the right-wing Recall!” Sawant’s campaign said on Twitter. “Over 500 Republican donors and over 160 Trump donors have lined up to fund the Recall Campaign and their voter suppression tactics.”
Big biz and the right wing are furious about the impact of socialist politics and social movements in Seattle & how we have inspired working people around the country. They are now trying to use the courts & their deep pockets to overturn Councilmember Sawant’s 2019 re-election…
— Kshama Solidarity Campaign (@Kshama_SC) April 1, 2021
