Court: Recall Against Seattle Councilwoman Can Proceed

SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) – The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that a recall effort against Seattle City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant can go forward. The Seattle Times reports the recall petition charges Sawant with four distinct offenses: She delegated her office’s employment decisions to her Socialist political party; she used city resources to promote a “Tax Amazon” ballot initiative; she let demonstrators into City Hall during a nighttime June protest; and she spoke at a protest in front of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s house (Durkan’s address is protected by a state confidentiality program because of her past work as a federal prosecutor). The Supreme Court made its decision Thursday. Recall petitioners now have 180 days to collect more than 10,000 signatures from residents of Sawant’s Council District.