Comments

1
gibe: an insulting or mocking remark.

jibe: to be in accord; to agree.
2
The Sawantanistas think they're above the law? What a shock.
3
...And here, at last, is Sawant's Benghazi, officially making her the most important person in Seattle.

Not because she has done so much, but because the competition has done so little.
4
Imagine how much more devastating this complaint would be if it was written in English.
5
When, exactly, organizations become political could be something the city or state needs to clarify in a declaratory ruling, if they realize by looking into this complaint that the rules aren't spelled out specifically enough.


Could this have major impacts for a lot of groups, like the myriad neighborhood and activism groups all over the city, including Campbell's own groups? Like, could the Magnolia Community Club, or a group I'm involved with, suddenly find themselves having to register?
6
You don't have to register with the PDC simply because you have a political opinion. Definitely sounds like bullshit.
7
@5 which you should, I want to know which of these neighborhood groups is just a astroturf front for say a grocery union ( look at GIRFWS )
8
If this were Richard Conlin, the Stranger would be all over him like shit in a Seattle dog park. But not the darling Sawant. Maybe the Stranger should have been included in the complaint under "in kind" contributions unreported.
9
@8:

In which case, exactly the same charges could be leveled against The Seattle Times for their support of Conlin, yes?

Sauce for goose, as the saying goes...
10
@9 Maybe. Your mistake is assuming that I care about the Seattle Times.
11
What does caring have to do with it? You make an accusation, and then pass off a counter-accusation as not being worthy of your "care".

What's that word we use to describe people who hold stake out a position, but balk when someone else presents a position that counters their own? No, don't tell me - it's right on the tip of my tongue...
12
How can an elected member of the City Council be considered a lobbyist? All legislators push agendas, by this logic all of them must register as lobbyists, and that's just stupid. This woman sounds like one of those activists who need to take a break from acting to think once in a while.
13
Speaking of tools, Elizabeth Campbell is one of Seattle's bigger tools. It's what right wing nutjobs do in Seattle.
14
@9: A newspaper does not need to register as a lobbyist, as it is a private corporation and its editorials (including political contributions) are free speech. Sawant, on the other hand, is using municipal recourses for a private interest.
15
@14- You really missed out on what was going on in the post you replied to.
16
@15 how so? the issue at hand is whether Councilperson Sawant has used public resources to further a particular and personal political agenda (one not agreed to as part of the public city council business). if, as wild example, it were shown that phil-locker, who is not an employee in any capacity of the city, were to have made use of city property, staff, time, ...even @#$'n paperclips; that would be an ethical breach.

Councilperson's Sawant's transition from an activist to a public office holder is one which should demonstrate a shift of time and resources to strictly public business when she's making use of public properties. and there is yet no clear evidence that she hasn't done so. i'm hoping she comes off clean in this. but the ethics overseers in city-hall are famously picky.
17
http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/vid…

"In fact I don't see too much of a contradiction between my role as an activist and my role as a councilmember"
18
But, as we learned with the anti-GMO groups and the trade groups collecting opposition funds, there's plenty of ways to run afoul of these rules.
19
This is part of the problem with these "ethics" rules, though. It is incredibly easy for ill-intentioned people to use them as weapons against political opponents. When someone is targeted with a complaint like this, they face a terrible burden of, essentially, having to prove their innocence. Especially when what we're dealing with is essentially political speech, these laws are not just a bad idea, they're unconstitutional.
20
@16- You go back and reread the comment chain. Phoebe replied to comment about newspaper bias, not a comment about Sawant's ethics. You (and her, if you're different people) aren't reading very well.
21
@16, the "personal political agenda" that Sawant is pushing is one that is being discussed by every political figure and group in the City, including the Mayor, who indeed has committed to that agenda.
22
as a non-political independent voter, i have never had such a viscerally negative response to any politician -

just read Sawant's wiki entry: - she grew up in the highest caste in india, moved to the USA to marry a wealthy microsofty, then she became upset at poverty, and became a US citizen in 2010, in order to run as a socialist/communist (which she became only a few years before) -

if she had any intellectual honesty, she would have taken her message back to India, in order to help correct their caste system, rather than slapping the face of her adopted home -

instead, she has married well, she has plenty of money, and she became a US citizen to qualify to run for office, and now on the socialist/communist platform -

to add insult to injury, her style is so shrill and abrasive, i would rather listen to a tea partier any day - when she and her rich husband effectively give away all (not just laundering her council salary) of their hard earned money, assets, and salary (parred down to $15/hr), then maybe she will have credibility -

every time i cover my ears and still hear her pterodactyl sounding rants, i wish we could invoke the Smith Act of 1940, and have her summarily shipped off to prison -

thanks for reading!

Please wait...

and remember to be decent to everyone
all of the time.

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