On Thursday, the City of Seattle dodged a bullet when a BNSF train carrying Bakken crude oil derailed under the Magnolia Bridge without a leak or explosion. This is extremely alarming. It is important to stress how lucky we were that it wasn’t a real disaster. More oil was spilled last year by BNSF and […]
On June 22, 2014, I released the following statement in solidarity with the work of Occupy CEHKC. Housing is an internationally recognized human right. Yet that principle has gained little traction with local policy makers, where last year at least 57 homeless people died in King County because they lacked safe housing. Tragically, the average lifespan of a […]
A call to action for fellow Councilmembers Friday, July 18th, I participated in a home defense protest alongside Standing Against Foreclosures and Evictions (SAFE), Washington Community Action Network (CAN), and Socialist Alternative. As you know, Councilmember Licata and I have supported SAFE in their efforts. The activists have continued their struggle all weekend, and it is […]
What: Public accountability hearing with Seattle City Light CEO Jorge Carrasco When: Wednesday, July 23rd at 9:30am during the Energy Committee Where: Seattle City Hall Council Chambers, 600 Fourth Ave, Seattle WA 98104 This Wednesday’s Energy Committee meeting will be dedicated to a public accountability hearing with Seattle City Light CEO Jorge Carrasco, in light […]
Yesterday the Seattle Transit Riders Union sent all Transportation Benefit District Board Members a letter (PDF) urging members to remove the sales tax increase from their proposal and, acting as the City Council, pass the Employee Hours Tax and Commercial Parking Fee increase being proposed by myself and Councilmember Nick Licata. The full text follows. Dear Seattle Transportation Benefit District Board Members: This spring, […]
UW workers endorse the Sawant/Licata Transit package I also wanted to include an update to the endorsements that we have received for the more progressive Metro plan that is being proposed by Councilmember Nick Licata and me to avert the cuts to Metro. On Friday, the Executive Board of WFSE Local 1488 voted unanimously to […]
Last year, the Governor of Michigan staged a corporate takeover of the City of Detroit through his suspension of local authority and the appointment of an Emergency Manager. For the working people of Detroit, this experiment has been devastating. Detroit is currently facing a war on water. Over 150,000 customers are late on bills that have increased […]
Here are answers to common questions about Kshama Sawant and Nick Licata’s proposal to fund Metro transit with a progressive tax on businesses. For more information, check out this opinion column by Kshama and Nick in the Puget Sound Business Journal, and see below on how you can support this proposal. What is the current […]
In the face of increasing controversy and public outrage, Mayor Murray has decided not to give Jorge Carrasco a raise “at this time.” This striking reversal is the outcome of strong public pressure on the City’s political establishment and a sign of the disgust working people feel about executive excess. The lowest paid workers in […]
On June 30th, four City Councilmembers claimed that they were defending the democratic process by refusing to allow public financing of elections to be considered by the City Council. This refusal has been a blow to many grassroots activists, and serves as another example of how the establishment stifles measures taken to strengthen public participation in […]