State Supreme Court rules recall petition for Seattle Councilwoman Sawant can go forward

SEATTLE — The Washington State Supreme Court has found sufficient legal and factual evidence to support a recall against Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant on some charges.

Petitioner Ernest H. Lou, among others, filed recall charges alleging that Sawant:

1. Delegated city employment decisions to a political organization outside city government

2. Used city resources to support a ballot initiative and failed to comply with public disclosure requirements

3. 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

4. Violated confidentiality laws by leading a protest march to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s private home, amounting to criminal harassment

The court found charges 2 and 3, and in part, 4, were factually and legally sufficient to support recall.

Charges that Sawant “delegated city employment decisions to a political organization outside city government and a portion of the charge that Councilmember Sawant’s actions in divulging the location of Mayor Durkan’s private residence amounted to criminal harassment” were found to be legally insufficient.

Sawant’s opponents will now need to gather more than 10,000 signatures from registered voters in District 3 to get the recall on the ballot.

The earliest the recall could get on the ballot would be in August, if the signatures are gathered in time.

Cox Media Group