(Images: Kshama Solidarity — top / Ella Li — bottom)
The PAC set up to help recall Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant has been released from campaign contribution limits and is using the cash on strategies including a $10,000 TV ad getting heavy play during NFL and sports broadcasts in the city thanks to a $100,000 Comcast advertising buy.
CHS reported here on the formation of the A Better Seattle political action committee and early contributors led by the state PAC of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association, and Matt Griffin, principal at the Pine Street Group, the developer behind the $2 billion downtown convention center expansion.
Last week, the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission granted the PAC’s request to be released from campaign contribution limits after a court ruling that the release would not impede voter participation in the December 7th election that will determine only if Sawant is recalled and not determine her possible replacement.
If the majority of D3 voters choose yes on the recall, the council will select a temporary replacement until the next general election in the city. The winner in that vote would finish Sawant’s current term through the end of 2023.
The chair of the group is Chris McLain of Ironworkers Local 86. Treasurer Philip Lloyd has been a busy player in Seattle’s nexus of dollars and politics — he also filled the same position on the campaign behind the court-snuffed Compassion Seattle initiative and the PAC that powered Ann Davison to a surprise victory in the City Attorney race. The phone number for the PAC belongs to the Downtown Seattle Association.
According to the most recent filings with the city, the PAC has already raised $160,000, closing the gap between the Recall Sawant campaign and the Kshama Solidarity campaign formed to fight the recall. Together, some $1.9 million has been raised by the organizations from around 16,000 contributors. Unlike the December 7th recall vote which is limited to only Sawant’s D3 constituents, anybody can donate.
Organizers have outlined multiple acts they say warrant recall including using city resources to promote a Tax Amazon initiative, allowing demonstrators inside City Hall during a protest in June 2020, and marching to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s home address kept secret due to her past role as a federal prosecutor. A fourth charge of allowing Socialist Alternative to influence her office’s employment decisions was rejected by the state Supreme Court.
Ballots in the recall were mailed beginning November 17th. Your vote must be postmarked or dropped in a county drop box by 8 PM on Tuesday, December 7th. Learn more and check on your ballot at info.kingcounty.gov.
While the A Better Seattle cash has been channeled into expensive television ads that play across the entire city and region, Recall Sawant has focused the bulk of its expenditures on direct mail campaigns to District 3 residents. Kshama Solidarity, meanwhile, has also spent on mailers and posters — the latest touting endorsements against the recall from Bernie Sanders and Noam Chomsky — but also a diverse set of in-the-field, get-out-the-vote costs like coffee for volunteers and wireless printers for tabling efforts where the campaign has offered to print ballots for voters who may have misplaced theirs. The group has also paid out thousands to campaign workers.
Both “yes” and “no” proponents, meanwhile, continue to criticize the composition of their opponent’s contributor pools. According to the city’s campaign contribution data, some of the criticism rings true. Yes, 40% of Kshama Solidarity contributors live outside the city compared to 19% for Recall Sawant. But the Solidarity campaign points out that with more than 9,400 total contributors, they have around 5,600 contributors in the city. Recall Sawant reports around 3,900. So, Kshama Solidarity does, indeed, have more out of Seattle contributors — but it also has more in-city.
But what about where it really matters in District 3? Kshama Solidarity weighs in with around 3,600 contributors — 35% of its total. Recall Sawant? 33% — or about 1,675 people.
Contributions to A Better Seattle, meanwhile, have not yet been categorized by district by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.
Meanwhile, a new PAC has joined the D3 recall roster as of this week but there have been no filings, as of yet, for Citizens for Safe Neighborhoods.
How is all this cash and campaign spending playing out? CHS reported here on strong early turnout with one week of voting to go.
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The same people that complain about Sawant street team don’t mind at all that the media and Amazon get to use massive influence on voters. I voted NO on the recall! Got many of my apathetic-to-voting friends to do the same. I stand with Kshama 100% against this slap in the face to democracy.
Democracy is having the right to (and exercising that right) to recall a person elected to office that one feels is not performing the duties. Regardless of your stance on the issue, exercise YOUR own individual right and vote.
Activist judge decided that a recall had to happen. Not the voters.
Who you call an “activist judge” is what others, including me, would call a judge following the law. Blaming an “activist judge” is simply another way of stamping your feet and saying it just isn’t fair. My opinion of course.
to be fair it would be several activist judges plus the entire state supreme court.
The most liberal Supreme Court in Washington state history! With SEVEN women justices and TWO male justices!! So, not going to buy your Not following the “activist” angle.
The irony of a leftist complaining about activist judges should be lost on no-one.
This comment shows the lack of knowledge of a typical Sawant supporter. It was the left leaning Washington State Supreme Court that ruled the recall can go forward.
The signatories of the Recall initiative, D3 residents, determined that this is a lie.
Regardless of stance on the matter, this is democracy at play. The results are up to voters to decide. Could you elaborate further on your last statement? Not being facetious, I genuinely would like to know.
So why not vote every day then? Let’s have presidents change daily based on random polls. It’s anti democratic since she was allowed a certain time frame after being voted in last time. Can’t just recall everyone. And she didn’t even do anything wrong. George Floyd protest? Oh noesss so bad! Wah.
This is why businesses function better than government. Consumers and investors all get to vote on the quality of the services and management being offered every single day with their wallets.
Politicians like Sawant just have to lie their asses off for a couple months a 4 years to trick a bunch of gullible people into thinking that she has actually accomplished anything besides raising her own profile and funneling campaign money to her husband via his employment at Socialist alternative. Businesses actually have to perform valuable services day in and day out in order to survive. That’s why for all the bluster and big anti-Amazon talk, the dollars don’t lie, American love Amazon.
Sawant is a huckster and if you aren’t on her payroll and your vote for her you’re the sucker.
Amazon sucks bad and Seattle largely doesn’t like that they don’t pay their fair share in taxes. Any they are losing employees at a high rate due to over working and wage suppression. But keep drinking that Kool Aid
No one’s “recalling everyone”. I can’t remember the last time a recall happened in Washington. I’ve certainly never voted in one.
Are you against recalls as a principle? So were you also against the recall of Scott Walker, or the impeachment/conviction of Donald Trump? If not, why is this different?
You sound concerned the will of D3’s voters — as opposed to The Socialist Alternative — may just not support your candidate’s lawbreaking and malfeasance. Wouldn’t that be terrible for the Socialist Alternative. But outstanding for D3 – we would get a real representative back, and not an International fundraiser for SA who proudly proclaims she only cares about her Base.
“Law breaking” only because the law is stupid and shouldn’t exist. Just because laws exist don’t make them good.–like cops killing with impunity for example.
Saw ant does not care abo8t people with disabilities. Each time I see a savant group- pictured, They are blocking the sidewalk accessibility. Walking people cannot pass in a socially distant or comfortable way and people with disabilities or that need extra space cannot Pass at all. her groups do not give enough space for safe passage.mentally or physically I have seen this tactic f9r years.
I was shocked at the blocking of the sidewalk by Sawant campaign workers and staff. The sidewalk at Pine and Brodway is very busy and not very wide. They left less than 2 feet for people to get by, or alternatively go into the street, and either way Sawant Workers got right into the faces of passers by. This is a pandemic – what right does Sawant employees have to do this? Can any organization set up shop in the street and block the sidewalk like this? It seems a dangerous precedent for many reasons.
Concern trolling the blog comments. Love these sockpuppet accounts.
I guess I’m another “sockpuppet” who voted for Sawant in her last 3 elections who will be voting yes on the recall.
Some of us old gays actually know the people in our community–we know that Henry Bridger is the furthest thing from right wing. When we hear Sawantists on the street corner (many of whom are activists who don’t even live in this district) saying he is, that tends to weaken the rest of their claims (even to old progressive lefties like me).
You all post the same script. Obvious by now. “I am from <marginalized group> and I previously voted for Sawant…blah blah” same thing in each post about her.
Henry Bridger is so far from right-wing that he returned donations from the top Trump donors in Washington state, along amazon’s union busters, and disavowed their spending in this campaign. That’s how principled he is.
Oh wait
You keep me from having to chime in to answer the absurd. Thanks. “What tools these morsels be.” – Shakespeare, I think.
It is pretty pathetic that Sawant has to pay an army of “volunteers” to create the illusion of broad grassroots support. It reminds me of 1984.
It’s pretty pathetic that for many years, the anti-Sawant crowd couldn’t even put up a competent candidate to beat Sawant, something that shouldn’t have been very difficult.
Instead of trying to legitimately beat her next election cycle, they are opting to use the recall process, emulating the recent, failed attempt by the California GOP. I don’t like Sawant, but I hope the recall fails miserably.
And yes, I understand the recall is a part of the democratic process, but it’s being used in a petty sense here.
Orion would have been great for the neighborhood. He is a class act with a long history of advocacy and support of LGBTQ culture in the neighborhood. Instead we got 4 more years of a lazy, narcissistic zealot that pulls the megaphone out from time to time to pretend to be doing something.
All he had to do was return Amazon’s money and he’d be councilmember.
I think it’s hilarious that the Recall campaign is claiming they are as grassroots as they are while having TWO additional PACs that haven’t had numbers reported on.
I voted No because this felt like a sham from the beginning.
I voted YES!
LOL. Agree. It’s insanity at this point. The rich Montlake and Broadway voters trying to use the mass media outlets to influence votes is more sickening than anything else.
Those all are D3 voters. For some reason you want to cancel them. Meanwhile a majority of Sawant’s funding originated from outside Seattle. Another inconvenient truth about her support.
yeah, I’m a bit disenchanted with Sawant now, and if there’s an alternative better than OR!ON next time, will likely not vote for her – but this recall has seemed shady af from the beginning. NO vote from me.
What has she done to improve the quality of life in Seattle or solve problems? F**k Sawant. It is time for new non-toxic, less cultish leadership in District 3.
It is important to note that the majority of Sawant’s contributions, that is total dollars not number of contributors, come from outside the city of Seattle. Yes, she has greater number of contributors from D3, but these are small dollar donors. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but most of her actual money comes from places other than Seattle. Not true for the Recall campaign.
Good point Glenn, the recall campaign is able to lean on the richest people in Seattle for cash and max donations. And now that the individual limit is gone, look for those average donation amounts to balloon!
From the graphs in the article, KSC average donation: $90.26; Recall Sawant: $154.08; ABS: $808.16!
Reminds me of Orion’s last minute big donor blitz. Let’s see if it pays off!
So, the average donation of “the richest people in Seattle” to the Recall is $154.08, while the average donation of the poor, oh-so- righteous working class donors for KSC is a mere $64 less. Wow. Never mind that the average is a silly way to describe the size of donations…the median would be far more infomative. A few large donations would obscure that most Recall donations are probably of similar size to those to for KSC. You know, like everyone in Seattle would be quite wealthy on average if Gates and Bezos were taking into account…Ah statistics…
Where have I heard this same argument before, that a legal recall election is somehow undemocratic? Ah, that’s right, from Trump and his followers on his impeachments. Both Trump and Sawant committed ethics violations while in office. Both Trump and Sawant used privileged information in endangering the lives of their political enemies, while in office. Both Trump and Sawant spurred their followers to take over the halls of government in order to “grab power”, while in office. Sawant even went so far as to unlock the doors herself. It is curious that Sawant endorsed both Trump’s impeachments yet is now attacking an equivalent consequence for her own parallel, abhorrent actions. We voted yes.
You’re seriously comparing Trumps arguably treasonous actions (Ukraine and Jan 6th) to Sawant revealing Durkan’s address and unlocking the doors of City Hall?
I question your critical reasoning skills.
Arguably Sawant’s actions are even more directly incriminating than Trump’s in that Sawant unlocked the doors to City Hall herself and personally led a crowd of 1000+ to a confidential home address. Trump’s actions were damning enough and warranted impeachment, which Sawant (and, I suspect, you) supported. If you can’t see the obvious parallels between them then you are hardly in a position to question another’s critical reasoning skills. Certain actions are just plain wrong, regardless of outcome.
One was a local councilmember acting stupid and completely out of line, the other was a lame duck president attempting to subvert the constitution and disrupt the democratic process, whether he physccially unlocked the doors or not, he set off the Jan 6 events and personally perpetuated it.
There’s no comparison, there’s no parallel. The fact that you even try to draw a comparison speaks a lot about your clear, entrenched bias or at least failure to think for yourself.
Well, your inability to present a cogent argument without resorting to immature and ugly ad hominem attacks exemplifies the typical Sawant follower. Best.
I get it, you’ve let yourself become manipulated and radicalized to the point where you can’t even discern or comprehend reality, let alone make a simple argument. I’ll break it down for you:
On one hand, you have a councilmember letting people into an empty city hall, where no one was hurt and damage was minimal. Stupid? Yes. Dangerous? Not really. Recallable? We’ll see.
On the other hand, you have the leader of the free country telling his supporters to storm the capitol while congress is doing their constitutional duty to certify a democratic election. During this insurrection, police officers were killed, congress directly threatened (including his vice president!) with murder and major damage done to the capitol.
It’s really hard to believe that someone really can’t comprehend the difference between these two events, but that’s the reality in our country these days.
Does no one else think planning a revolution to overthrow Capitalism seems a bit treasonous? How can I be convinced it’s not.
With the amount of pro-Sawant on-street voting going on, there will undoubtedly be more voter anomalies committed. Hopefully King County is checking signatures for duplicates or outright fraud. Sawant’s ground game is ruthless and has never let the law stand in its way in the past (their trespassing into “no soliciting” buildings, their tries to turn in faked signatures during the initiative signature gathering, etc).
It’s like when the California GOP started claiming voter fraud before the election started.
I’ve noticed Sawant’s side never addresses complaints about her behavior in office, their usual tactic is to “flood the zone” with a fire hose of deflection and whataboutism.
Exactly how Trump argues.
D3 deserves better than a left wing Trump. I support Progressives in office; I voted YES to recall Sawant.
The Pro-Sawant crowd has been doing the same thing – claiming voter suppression for months now, to attempt to delegitimize the results in the event she loses.
Yeah, it’s been pretty clear from the get go that both sides are acting like complete idiots.
Best to just let this recall fail and put up a legitimate candidate next election cycle.
Best to remove a toxic, ineffective person when we have the change.
Sawant stands up for working folks which is why millionaires and Trump supporters are paying for the recall. Kshama stands up for me and I stand with her. VOTE NO!
Lol, have you seen the amount of money sawant has received from outside of Seattle and district 3 specifically? I’ll give you $100 if you can find 10 “trump supporters” in district 3, rich or poor.
your tunnel vision is messing with you.
Do I care that her party supports her? No. Money outside of seattle still doesn’t come close to total $. Recall people have way more outside money and they also have the media on their side. You’re silly to think Kshama doesn’t have a huge uphill battle against big donors.
Wait what? 18% of Recall Sawant funding is from outside of Seattle. 54% of Kshama Solidarity funding is from outside of Seattle.
How can you just blatantly lie about stuff like this?
Because he supports Sawant. Just look at his name.
PErcentages? LOL now do total dollars. Which is what matters.
Even though I am opposed to Sawant (and yes, voted for her in her early elections), I’ll give the Sawant solidarity campaign a piece of free advice, don’t start your script when you knock on someone’s door with, “We’re here to fight the racist, right-wing recall.” If someone was inclined to vote for the recall, you’ve basically just called them a right wing racist and your conversation is going to end there. You are not going to even have an opening to sway their opinion. Second piece of advice: track your canvas data and certainly don’t return to the house of someone who has already expressed support for the recall. Oh, and here is a third piece of advice: you probably should do some demographic research on who your likely supporters are and who your likely opponents are, and stay away from the likely opponent demographic.
I bet that Sawant Solidarity canvassers are turning out as many recall supporters as opponents, if not more.
Doesn’t sound like a safe bet.
I oppose the recall but I agree that Sawant’s messaging is awful. In its tone-deafness (if not in its content) it reminds me of the Bob Avakian personality cult, which after five decades has yet to make any real impact on progressive discourse. I know it’s borderline-heretical to suggest this, but in this instance, where she doesn’t have a clear, visible opponent to run against, Sawant could really use a good political consultant who understands the real thinking and motivation of the Democratic Party mainstream.
At the very least, I’d suggest losing the “racist” part of the pitch. Yes, I know what you mean by it and I don’t entirely disagree, but unlike “right-wing” it can’t be explained in the 10-20 seconds (max) of focused attention the average person will give you, and using it uncontextualized will in many cases leave well-meaning white people feeling verbally assaulted, even if they can’t articulate why. In this situation less is definitely more.