Judge denies Sawant’s motion to keep recall effort from moving forward

SEATTLE — A judge on Monday rejected an appeal by Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant to keep an effort to recall her from moving forward.

Sawant had filed a motion for reconsideration after King County Superior Court Judge Jim Rogers found four of six charges leveled against her to be specific enough and sufficient to permit the process to continue.

In his ruling, Rogers said the charges in the recall petition did rise to the level of malfeasance and her motion was denied.

It’s the second recall effort against a Seattle elected official amid mass protests against police violence and systemic racism.

The four complaints in the recall petition that Rogers found to be legally sufficient for her to be recalled are as follows:

• That she delegated city employment decisions to a political organization outside city government
  
• Used city resources to support a ballot initiative and failed to comply with public disclosure requirements
  
• Disregarded state orders related to COVID-19 and endangered the safety of city workers and others by using her passkey to allow hundreds of protesters into a locked Seattle City Hall after hours on June 9, 2020
  
• Violated confidentiality laws by leading a protest march to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s private home

Cox Media Group