We fought hard against the establishment’s business-as-usual budget Dear People’s Budget activists and community members: Congratulations to everyone for a successful People’s Budget struggle on many fronts!  On Monday, Nov. 25, the City Council adopted a 2020 budget. We need to celebrate what has been won, while at the same time refusing to accept a […]

On May 18, 2017, my office and the Trump-Proof Seattle Coalition brought together more than 200 people for a District 3 town hall to build a movement to Tax the Rich! For decades, poor and working class people in our state have paid far more of their income in taxes than the super-rich. Now with […]

On September 21, 2015, the Seattle City Council adopted a resolution calling on the Washington State Legislature to repeal its ban on rent control. This rent control resolution is a huge victory for our grassroots movement for housing affordability.  Thirty five years after the state legislature sold out to big landlords by banning all rent […]

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 […]

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 […]

I think it should be first of all noted that Councilmember Licata’s points [regarding widespread dissatisfaction at City Light] are very welcome, and I’m glad that the public has some access to the results of this survey. And I think at the very least, that information raises some valid questions about this so-called great performance by […]

Transcript of Speech as Delivered Councilmember Rasmussen’s amendment speaks to the track record of a CEO, and its correlation to pay increase, with the idea that if Mr. Carrasco’s record and accomplishments are great, then that justifies giving him up to $120,000 more, above the $245,000 he already makes. It is correct that pay should […]

There has been an outpouring of anger over the Seattle City Council’s decision to vote in favor of a $100,000 pay hike for the already highest paid City-employed executive. This would have passed quietly and smoothly if we did not have a voice on the council representing working people. Fortunately, as a socialist representative, I […]

On Wednesday, June 4th, the Seattle City Council’s Education and Governance Committee voted to grant the highest paid City-employed executive, Jorge Carrasco, additional pay of up to $100,000, retroactive to January 1st. Mr. Carrasco is the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle City Light, a publicly-owned utility. He is currently paid $245,000 annually. […]

A half century ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for a living wage at the March on Washington, where a quarter of a million people, mostly black workers, demanded their rights. They called for $2 per hour. In today’s dollars, that is the same number we have just won – Dr. King and his […]