FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/8/2015
Sawant Responds to Commission’s Rejection of Mayor’s Legislation
SEATTLE – Councilmember Kshama Sawant issued the following statement in response to a decision by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission regarding Council Bill 118397, Prohibition against use of public office facilities in campaigns. The bill, introduced by Mayor Ed Murray was rejected by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) during their June 3 meeting:
“It took us a while to get here, but this attack on free speech is finally dead. The bill was a blatant political retaliation against the Affordable Housing Town Hall held by Nick Licata and myself. Over 500 people packed City Hall and demanded rent control and affordable housing solutions. Rather than responding by taking real action on housing, the Mayor responded with this egregious attempt to limit political speech.
“It is incredible that, even after concerns were strongly raised by the National Lawyers Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Mayor did not get the message. Fortunately, the SEEC rejected this ill-advised, politically motivated ordinance, very likely saving the city from tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills from court challenges.
“The time for complacency and drawn out processes is over. Hopefully the Mayor and the majority of the City Council will now finally stop playing political games and begin to seriously get down to the task at hand – addressing our city’s affordable housing emergency. I urge Councilmembers to vote for Resolution 31590 from Councilmember Licata and me to put the City on record against Olympia’s undemocratic ban on our municipal rights.”
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