Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant is "definitely running" in District 3, she tells The Stranger. She said she has never considered running for a citywide council seat.

But yesterday afternoon, lefty Seattle political consultant Jeff Upthegrove, who works on the Sawant campaign, said Sawant was considering running for a citywide seat against fellow incumbent Sally Clark. As of last night, Philip Locker, Socialist Alternative's campaign director, was telling Capitol Hill Seattle that "all options are on the table."

Jess Spear, who Upthegrove said was likely to run in District 3 if Sawant ran citywide, held open the possibility of running in Districts 3 or 4 when I reached her yesterday evening.

Was this all an elaborate political head-fake to shake Rod Hearne, who was rumored to want to run against Sawant, into confirming his bid for office? If so, it worked.

But Sawant insists it was not, and she blames her own campaign team for the misinformation. "It's his own enthusiasm," Sawant says of Upthegrove's comments.

Upthegrove is a grizzled longtime Seattle politico—not a starry-eyed newbie. A call to his cell phone went straight to voice mail.

"What he's feeling is fueled by," Sawant said, "is other people's speculation about what I'm going to do. The exuberance that people are feeling shows that people are excited by this kind of change." (We were speaking by phone, so I couldn't see if she kept a straight face as she said this.)

Sawant claims Upthegrove and other members of her campaign didn't check with her before speaking for her. She says Upthegrove is still part of the campaign team, however, and still authorized to speak for her.

Right.