Sawant: ‘Other governments are acting, the human cost will be incalculable’
Seattle, WA — Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), sent her third letter in three days urging Mayor Jenny Durkan to take immediate action to help Seattle’s renters, homeowners, and struggling small businesses from the ravages of the Coronavirus crisis, similar to actions taken by the San Jose City Council and in Miami-Dade County.
From her letter:
“…use the emergency powers that the Council has given you to immediately:
- Ban all economic evictions and late fees – for both residential and struggling small business renters.
- Ban all coronavirus-related home foreclosures.
- Require landlords, utilities, and residential mortgage-holders to work out payment plans that allow tenants and homeowners who are suffering economically due to the coronavirus epidemic up to 24 months to fulfill their payment obligations. Without reasonable repayment plans and timelines, tenants and homeowners will face crushing debt once the crisis is over.
- Require all residential landlords to extend expiring leases until at least three months after the end date of the emergency declaration.
As of Thursday evening (March 12) over 4,000 signatures were generated by way of an online petition initiated by Sawant’s office.
In closing, Sawant wrote:
“…Other governments are acting … Seattle must act by immediately stopping evictions and foreclosures, by requiring tenants and homeowners be given time to make up their payment obligations, and by requiring landlords to extend expiring leases.
“…In Seattle right now, tens of thousands of workers – gig economy workers, service economy workers, small business workers, workers in entertainment industries, retail workers, office workers, and others – are waking up worried about basic survival. Without the City’s immediate intervention, renters will be evicted and small business owners will go bankrupt. The human cost will be incalculable.”
The letter in its entirety is available ONLINE.
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