The following article is from the Socialist Alternative Party’s website.
Sawant to Run Against Conlin for Seattle City Council
Socialist Challenges Democratic Party Establishment
By Philip Locker
March 13, 2013
Kshama Sawant, economics teacher at Seattle Central Community College, announced today at a press conference she is running this year as a Socialist Alternative candidate for City Council against Democratic incumbent and former city council president Richard Conlin.
This follows Sawant’s historic 29% vote (over 20,000 votes) against Democratic state House Speaker Frank Chopp in 2012. Sawant, who ran as a Socialist Alternative candidate, received the strongest vote of any independent left-wing candidate in the country in 2012. Sawant was endorsed by The Stranger, Communication Workers of America Local 37083, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 in the primary, and Pastor Rich Lang of the University Temple United Methodist Church, among others.
“Richard Conlin was the only council member who voted against the Paid Sick Leave initiative. He killed the monorail. As a 16-year incumbent he has a long track record of presenting a progressive image to voters, while actually carrying out the bidding of the super-rich. But Conlin is just one in a long line of council members who have served the interests of corporations and the wealthy, not ordinary working people” Sawant said.
“This is a one-party city. The Mayor and all the City Council members are Democrats, and the Democratic Party establishment is serving big business, while working people face unaffordable housing, slashed social services, low wages and high taxes,” Sawant continued. “How can the City Council represent working people when they pay themselves nearly $120,000/year? I am running to give a voice for working people. If elected, I will only take the average wage of Seattle workers and donate the rest to building social movements” Sawant pledged.
Sawant calls for a Millionaire Tax to fund public education and a green jobs program, expanding public transit, a $15/hour minimum wage in the city, and scrapping the MAP test in the city’s public schools. The campaign will highlight the systematic police brutality, racial profiling, and repression of social movements by the Seattle Police Department.
Sawant said she will “campaign to put the brakes on the coal trains that corporations like SSA Marine want to push through. The corporations say coal will create jobs. What we need is not coal, but green living-wage jobs. The City Council’s empty rhetoric will not stop the coal trains. We need City Councilors to take serious measures by organizing mass protests, blockades, and using all legislative means at their disposal.”
Sawant stated “We will be running a vigorous grassroots campaign that will fight for low paid workers, youth, poor people and people of color facing police brutality, and all those who are shut out by the Democratic Party political machine that runs this city on behalf of a tiny elite.”
How You Can Support our Campaign:
1) Like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/VoteSawant
2) Donate on-line at www.VoteSawant.org/donate
Unlike our opponent and other incumbents on the Council, we are not financed by big business and the 1%. Our political work is carried out by dedicated volunteers, and relies on the financial support of ordinary workers, young people, and activists. Contributions of any size are invaluable.
3) Volunteer at www.VoteSawant.org/get-involved
We are running a 100% grassroots, working-class campaign. We rely on ordinary people contributing their time and energy to build our campaign. We need you to get involved! There are many things we need help with, so you can pick a task that works for you!
4) Endorse our candidate at www.VoteSawant.org/endorsers
Invite the candidate and/or a campaign representative to talk with your organization about endorsing. Please also personally endorse as an individual.
5) Join Socialist Alternative!
We have weekly activist meetings, events, and education programs to help understand the key lessons of past movements and how we can change society.
For more information or to get involved in the Sawant campaign and/or Socialist Alternative:
www.VoteSawant.org
www.SocialistAlternative.org
(206) 486-0099
VoteSawant@gmail.com
Twitter: @VoteSawant
6 responses so far ↓
1 Deran // Mar 15, 2013 at 1:55 pm
I like Kshama Sawant, and Socialist Alternative is among the least offensive and most useful Trotskyist grouplet, but I do not see the advantage of Sawant running for the nonpartisan City Council race. The incumbent she is running against, Richard Conlin, is a total whore for the delopers and Downtown money, but I am not convinved she can make it past the primary. And at no time will she be able to use a party label on wither the primary or general ballot.
Plus, she is really brave to take on the whole issue of coal trains running throuhg the city, because some of the labor unions support the coal trains, but what she really needs to do is talk about rent stabilization.
I’ll probably vote for her.
2 Deran // Mar 15, 2013 at 1:57 pm
And thank you to Krzysztof for posting about this campaign.
It will be interesting to see if Sawant in Seattle and the Socialist Alternative candidate for the Minneapolis City Council make it past the primary.
3 johnO // Mar 15, 2013 at 7:33 pm
Is this party a spinoff of Socialist Equality Party, SWP, or plain old Socialist Party?
4 Gene Berkman // Mar 15, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Socialist Alternative is the U.S. affiliate of The Committee for a Workers International.
CWI was formed by the Socialist Party of the United Kingdom, which formerly operated as The Militant Tendency in the UK Labour Party.
The Militant Tendency was a Trotskyist group that carried out the strategy of “entryism” in the Labour Party, but they were ultimately purged for being troublemakers.
Socialist Alternative is very small, and has run few political campaigns. SA backed Ralph Nader for President in 2000 and 2004, and many SA members are involved in The Green Party.
5 Root's Teeth Are Awesome // Mar 16, 2013 at 10:22 am
@1: what she really needs to do is talk about rent stabilization.
Rent control is a great way to destroy any housing market. It benefits current tenants (by stealing from landlords), and increases rents for prospective tenants who are newcomers to the market.
6 Deran // Mar 16, 2013 at 3:17 pm
“Rent control is a great way to destroy any housing market. ”
No, not at all, quite the opposite.
And I am not talking abt some system like NYC had with “rent control”.
Rent stabilzation moves residential rental housing from speculatory bubble economics, in to something much more like investing in a muni or utillity bond. Steady pay off to the landlord, extra rent increases as the landlord improves and maintains the property.
This sort of stabilization creates a context for renters where they can live in a place, have a job and nknow what the future holds for them as far as expenses for housing.
As far as who is stealing from whom, the landlord is taking the renters earned income, and speculatory markets create a situation where the landlords (in my city they have switched from individuals to REITs, hedge funds and and various speculators.
It’s the speculation on residential rental units that creates a bubble that drives up rents and make them unaffordable. Seattle being an excellent example of this speculatory bubble creating unaffordable housing in the city.
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