Socialist councilwoman Kshama Sawant won't run for re-election. There's a reason for it and it's not that she doesn't have a fringe base for support -- she does.
She's not running because she's become wholly ineffective on the council. Few like her. She's toxic. /1
She's not running because she's become wholly ineffective on the council. Few like her. She's toxic. /1
When she was first elected, she undoubtedly had legislative accomplishments like #15Now, which then-mayor Ed Murray tried to steal credit for. But that was Sawant.
She used to speak to all media outlets (I did a couple dozen interviews with her) and be more proactive. /2
She used to speak to all media outlets (I did a couple dozen interviews with her) and be more proactive. /2
But she grew angrier and more isolated due, I think, the recall efforts against her. She BARELY scraped by the last recall challenge. People were growing weary of her nasty and divisive rhetoric. /3
But most importantly: her council colleagues, who are almost all as extreme as she is on most issues, didn't want anything to do with her. She was always so brand focused, which irked many in City Hall. But she was also just rude and unpleasant to be around. /4
That's part of the reason why she's been less effective: she has no allies on the Council. And the media hasn't covered her much because reporters grew tired of her lazy "corporate media" attacks and her office generally doesn't respond to many requests anyway. /5
Now she'll lead some activist movement to be the thorn in the side of Democrats. Good. This will likely mean moderate candidates will have a chance of getting into the race because Sawant will start pushing the crazy to run for council seats. It'll alienate most voters. /6
There are a ton of crazies concentrated in only two districts. It's why running a crazy against more moderate Alex Pedersen failed.
She's still a threat in that her cult will be motivated and active, so you can't count her out. But it gives a path for smart moderates to take. /7
She's still a threat in that her cult will be motivated and active, so you can't count her out. But it gives a path for smart moderates to take. /7
In the end, Sawant ran her course. She changed Seattle for the worse, so I'm happy to see her go. Now we just have to make sure she (and other councilmembers who are calling it quits), aren't replaced by people as destructive as Sawant. /end
*isn't.
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