Author: Adam Ziemkowski (Adam Ziemkowski)

Post

My Letter to Seattle FireFighters Union President Kenny Stuart with Proposals to Fight the Threat Posed by the Far Right to Working People, Racial Justice, and Progressive Movements

On January 19th, I sent a letter to City officials asking for an investigation into a series of threatening emails I received from a Seattle Firefighter email account against me and the working class and progressive movements my office represents inside City Hall. FireFighter Union, IAFF Local 27, President Kenny Stuart sent the following response, […]

Post

FAQ – Ban on Seattle Police Use of Tear Gas, Pepper Spray, Blast Ball & Other “Crowd Control Weapons”

What is the “Crowd Control” Weapons Ban? During the Justice for George Floyd movement, the police departments in cities including Seattle unleashed tear gar, blast balls, rubber bullets, and other so-called “crowd control” weapons. This was carried out with the approval of the Democratic establishment in the various cities. Our socialist Council office, alongside hundreds […]

Post

Councilmember Sawant Asks City Officials for Investigation into Threatening Emails Sent from City Employee Address

SEATTLE – Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) asked City officials to investigate and take seriously a series of threatening emails sent from a Seattle Fire Department employee’s city email address to Sawant’s official email.  The increasingly threatening emails began on Dec. 17, 2020, with the most specific timely threat made Jan. 18. Copies […]

Post

Black Lives Matter Activist Castill Hightower’s Public Testimony Calling on Democratic Party Councilmembers to “Stand with the Movement & Sawant & Not Water Down Seattle’s First-In-Nation Ban on Police Use of So-Called ‘Crowd Control’ Weapons”

Castill Hightower has spearheaded the Justice for Herbert Hightower Jr. campaign. She is a leading voice among the Seattle activists calling for an elected civilian oversight board with full powers over Seattle police, including hiring and firing, policies and procedures. My name is Castill Hightower. My brother was killed by Seattle Police in 2004 while […]

Post

Councilmember Sawant Denounces Far Right Violence at the Capitol, Calls on Labor Unions, Social Movements, and Socialists to Organize to Shut Down the Far Right

‘The horrific demonstration of far right violence we’re seeing in DC today is a scary reminder that Trump may have lost the election, but Trumpism and the far right is growing…Trump and his reactionary base are refusing to accept a democratic election result…We need to build a mass fightback for Medicare For All, a Green […]

Post

Solidarity with Millions of Indian Farmers Protesting Privatization, Poverty & Indebtedness

This is a resolution my office is co-sponsoring with Councilmember Mosqueda’s office, in solidarity with tens of millions of farmers and workers in India, who are fighting against new exploitative laws by the Hindu fundamentalist and reactionary establishment regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). CITY OF SEATTLE RESOLUTION __________________ […]

Post

Letter signed by Seattle City Council to Interim SPD Chief Diaz regarding the release of records related to the killing of Herbert Hightower Jr.

Letter Text: November 30, 2020 “Dear Interim Chief Diaz, We are writing to urge you to expeditiously compile and release all Seattle Police Department (SPD) records regarding the death of Herbert Hightower Jr., who was fatally shot by Seattle Police in 2004 while experiencing a mental health crisis. These public records were requested in August […]

Post

Councilmember Sawant denounces Democrats’ austerity budget while hailing victories by People’s Budget and Solidarity Budget for affordable housing and shelters, renters rights and eviction defense, Green New Deal, and $31 million shift from bloated police budget to community-led programs

Sawant: ‘Even with the victories of our movement, the Democrats’ austerity budget deeply fails working people and marginalized communities, including working-class and poor communities of color’ Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council’s Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, today issued this statement in response to the City Council adopting the 2021 City […]

Post

Letter sent from Downtown Seattle Association on “Reconsidering” the Amazon Tax

August 14, 2020Dear Council President González and Budget Chair Mosqueda,Prior to your adoption of Seattle’s tax on jobs, we expressed grave concern over the economic disadvantage this tax would create for Seattle and the likelihood that the policy would push jobs outside of the city. Yesterday, Bloomberg News reported that Amazon is considering office locations […]

Post

Councilmember Sawant’s Response to Chief Best Resignation

SEATTLE – Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council’s Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, released the following statement in response to the resignation announcement by Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best: “When Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best announced her pending retirement earlier this week, she joined more than half a dozen police […]