Judge Rules In Favor of Recall
FOUR CHARGES ARE CERTIFIED
AGAINST SAWANT
- That Councilmember Sawant “Relinquished Authority of her Office and Disregarded City of Seattle Employment and Hiring Rules.”
- That Councilmember Sawant misused City resources in promoting a ballot initiative.
- That Councilmember Sawant misused her official position by admitting hundreds of individuals at night into City Hall.
- That Councilmember Sawant led a protest march to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s private residence in violation of the State’s confidential program.
Want To Join The Effort?
Please contribute to the committee to recall Sawant! Your support is critical.
To be successful in the age of COVID-19, we need the financial support of thousands of small contributors just like you because sending petitions by mail will be expensive. We only have a limited time to gather signatures so please make a donate as soon as possible.
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If you want to donate by check, please make the check out to “Recall Kshama Sawant” and mail it to:
Recall Kshama Sawant
P.O. Box 23086, Seattle, WA 98102
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Summary of Judge Rogers’ Order on Sufficiency of Charges
1. Relinquishing Authority of Her Office and Disregarding City of Seattle Employment and Hiring Rules (December 2017)
•Court found that Sawant gave her duties to the Socialist Alternative party legally and factually sufficient
•Court found that Sawant “had to persuade SEC to concur with her decision to fire an employee, not simply ask advice. This is delegation of a decision to an outside body…”
•“These facts show actual knowledge of facts indicating the Councilmember intended to commit an unlawful act, a breach of ethics.”
•The Court disagreed with the Seattle Elections and Ethics Commission ruling dismissing this allegation and found that Sawant may have violated the Ethics Code of Seattle because this delegation may have “impaired” her independence.
2. Misuse of City of Seattle Council Office Resources to Promote a Ballot Initiative or Other Electioneering (Jan-February 2020)
•Court found that facts showed Sawant spent $2,000 and “assisted in other ways”
•Court found these actions were NOT “de minimus” (trivial) and that the “are from Councilmember’s own words” and City documents.
•Court found “these facts show actual knowledge of facts indicating that the Councilmember intended to commit an unlawful act”
•Court disagreed with Sawant’s interpretation of the state law prohibiting use of public funds and found that the broad language of the law BANNED use of government resources for ballot measures. It did NOT contain an exception for resources used before the ballot measure was filed (as claimed by Sawant).
3. Misuse of Councilmember Sawant’s Official Position in Admitting Hundreds of Individuals Illegally into City Hall Afterhours (June 9, 2020)
•Court found allegations legally and factually sufficient
•Court cited the Governor’s COVID orders and found that Sawant, “knowingly allowed in hundreds of people into City Hall despite the Governor’s proclamation” from retweets made by Sawant and related news articles.
•Court refused to find the incident at City Hall was a “politician demonstration” and cited the Supreme Court’s recent order in the recall of the Snohomish County Sheriff.
•Court found that “City Hall was locked to the public precisely because of the pandemic” and “thus, her alleged act of unlocking the building closed due to the pandemic and letting in the protestors PROVES HER INTENT needed to allow the charge to go forward.”
4. Using Her Official Position as City Councilmember to Lead a Protest March to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Private Residence Whose Location is in the State Confidential Program (July 3rd 2020)
•Violation of the address confidentiality program constitutes the class C felony of harassment and “these facts show actual knowledge of facts indicating that Councilmember [Sawant] intended to commit an unlawful act and form a basis of knowledge of the allegations.”
•Court found that Sawant and other organizers knew the Mayor’s address, knew it was confidential, and led the protestors right to the Mayor’s home – where the Councilmember is pictured speaking”
•Court found “this is more than sufficient to satisfy the intent requirement.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Can voters really recall an elected official?
Yes! According to the Washington state Constitution, an elected official can be recalled if that politician, “has committed some act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office, or who has violated their oath of office.”
How many signatures are needed to recall Councilmember Sawant?
We will need 10,739 signatures! Though it’s best to gather about 13,000 – 14,000 to ensure we have enough since some will be invalidated.
Who can sign the petition to Recall Councilmember Sawant?
ONLY people who live in District 3 in the City of Seattle can sign the petition but anyone can donate.
What are the steps to Recall Councilmember Sawant?
Step 1 – Statement of charges sent via email to Julie Wise, Director of King County Elections on August 18th DONE
Step 2 – Julie Wise forwarded the Statement of Charges to Council member Sawant DONE
Step 3 – Julie Wise forwarded the Statement of Charges to Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office DONE
Step 4 – Dan Satterberg, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will create “Petition to Determine Sufficiency of Recall Charges and Adequacy of Ballot Synopsis (LOU) and Certification and Petition for Hearing before a King County Superior Court Judge DONE
Step 5 – Hearing before a King County Superior Court Judge DONE
Step 6 – The Judge will either approve or not approve the recall election petition process. APPROVED!
Step 7 — Decision by the judge can be appealed to the State Supreme Court within 15 days
Step 8 – If the Judge and/or the supreme court (if appealed) approves, we will have 180 days to gather 10,739 “valid” signatures.
Who can donate?
Anyone is who a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident alien. You do not have to live in District 3
Why do you need my address and employment?
We are required by the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) and the City of Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) to have this information for each donation. If your contributions in total are $25 or less your name and address will not be made public. If your contribution is between $25.01 and $100 only your name and address will be made public on campaign finance reports. If your contribution is between $100.01 and $1,000 your employer and occupation must be reported too.
What is the maximum amount I can contribute?
Under Washington State law the maximum amount an individual or a business can make is $1,000. Spouses can both contribute up to $1,000.
If she’s recalled, who will replace her?
The Seattle City Council will chose a replacement to serve only until the next general election, In this case probably until the 2022 general election, but could be the 2021 general election.. Whoever wins that election will face the voters in 2023.
Seattle City Council District 3
Still Unsure If You Live in District 3?
Paid for by Recall Sawant
PO Box 23086 – Seattle, WA 98102
www.sawantrecall.org