Sawant runs for Seattle re-election

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Socialist Party or whatever, because we are all on the same Kshama Sawant’s re-election campaign is in full swing. Are socialists and Democrats really on the same side? The Seattle Socialist Alternative candidate, who won a seat Apparently, these officials and party workers believe they on the Seattle City Council two years ago, is mobilizing can gain political advantage by offering support to the highly popular Sawant—despite her socialist program.

Since her election in 2013, Sawant fulfilled her campaign But working-class activists can never achieve success by promise to make Seattle the first major city to pass a $15 campaigning for elected office under the same “tent” as the an hour minimum wage. And she has taken on a number Democratic Party, which offers nothing to working people of other issues that are important to working people. In the city with the fastest rising rents in the country, she has The Democratic Party is one of the two main parties of championed the fight for rent control, a Tenant’s Bill of the capitalist class—unyielding in its policies favoring the Rights, and the demand that the city build thousands of billionaire 1%. It is an obstacle to building the mass move­ ment for social change. Unfortunately, by listing Demo­ Her last campaign was centered on the grassroots $15- cratic Party officials in its campaign literature, the Sawant wage movement, which complemented the ongoing orga­ campaign needlessly fosters illusions that there are some nizing of fast-food workers by SEIU. Although Sawant re­ “good Democrats,” an error that we hope will be corrected ceived endorsements from a lot of unions, however, SEIU stuck with the incumbent. But this time, all the SEIU locals To be sure, Seattle’s Democratic Party machine has not in Washington (SEIU 775, 1199NW, 925, 6), representing looked kindly on the effort to give two more years in city 86,000 workers statewide and 12,000 in Seattle, have en­ council to Sawant—and they are fighting back. The Seattle dorsed her campaign—along with some two dozen other blog Publicola reported that rich donors held a breakfast fundraiser to set plans in motion for an anti-Sawant cam­ On May 12, Sawant submitted more than 3000 signatures paign. The article reports that “hefty out of state donations to qualify for the ballot. “It’s exciting to be able to run yet are going to be coming in from top-tier donor counterparts another grassroots independent working-class campaign,”

Last month, 37th District Democrats were planning on This election will be the first in Seattle that moves to elect co-sponsoring a candidates’ forum with the 43rd District, candidates by district. And this is the first time that promi­ where Sawant had been invited to speak. David Corrado, nent elected Democrats have announced their support for chair of the 37th District Democrats in Southeast Seattle the socialist Sawant. These officials include King County seemed shocked: “Philosophically it’s a problem that Council member Larry Gossett and state Senator Pramila we’ve never dealt with before. There has never before been Jayapal—as well as recently retired state Senator Adam an incumbent who is not a Democrat and who sits so far to Kline. According to the website of the Sawant campaign, Jayapal has praised Sawant as a “powerful and unwavering There were strong objections when some Democrats real­ Sized that they would have to share the stage with a socialist.

Seattle Democratic Party activist Jeanne Legault argues, The Executive Committee of the 37th District pulled out “I think we need to open our tent a little bit, and include and decided to hold its own forum—without Sawant. They other minor party organizations, like the Green Party or the also declined to invite independent Josh Farris, a housing SOCIALIST ACTION JUNE 2015 9 her supporters to win again.

quality apartments to be rented at below-market rates. labor organizations.

Sawant said. progressive voice in City Hall.” side and we are stronger working together.”

but austerity and oppression.

as the campaign unfolds.

from around the country” to defeat Sawant’s reelection.

the left of the Democratic Party.” crats decided to cancel its candidates’ forum entirely. attendees of the public event are present.”

would that make Sawant legally liable for her actions?

undisciplined, and not under anyone’s control.”

election held within 60 days of such finding.”

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gency Committee against War and Injustice and other groups’ action at the shareholders meeting of the JPMorgan Chase Bank and other actions target­ ing the Bank. JPMorgan Chase is playing a lead­ ing role in home foreclosures nationally, causing senseless destruction in Detroit most of all. • May 21, National: Black Lives Matter and others anti-racist youth and social justice groups have set May 21 as a national action day for women, trans and LGBTQ victims of police violence. UNAC will help publicize and support these events and will continue to support other actions against racism and police violence. • May 26, National: UNAC supports the demands raised by people in Germany that the German gov­ ernment close the Satellite Relay Station at the U.S. Air Base Ramstein in Germany, which plays an es­ sential role in all U.S. drone surveillance and drone strikes in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Africa and elsewhere, and close the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Stuttgart, which is the Pentagon’s central command responsible for plan­ ning and carrying out all U.S. interventions, includ­ ing drone killings, in Africa. UNAC will endorse the German call for vigils (on May 26 in the U.S. and on May 27 in Germany) in solidarity with the bin Ali Jaber family of Yemen, two of whose members were killed by a U.S. drone in 2012; the family has filed a court case against the German government for allowing Ramstein to be used for the illegal U.S.