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Kshama Sawant

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Kshama Sawant
Socialist Alternative candidate for
Seattle City Council Position 2
OpponentRichard Conlin
IncumbentRichard Conlin
Personal details
BornIndia
Political partySocialist Alternative
SpouseVivek Sawant
Alma materNorth Carolina State University (Ph.D.), University of Mumbai (B.S.)

Kshama Sawant is a former software engineer, part-time economics professor, activist and socialist candidate in Seattle, Washington. She holds part-time teaching positions at Seattle Central Community College and Seattle University and was a visiting assistant professor at Washington and Lee University. Sawant has run unsuccessfully for the Washington state legislature and is a current candidate for the Seattle City Council.[1][2]

Sawant graduated with a B.S in computer science from the University of Mumbai. She received her PhD in economics from North Carolina State University. Her dissertation was titled Elderly Labor Supply in a Rural, Less Developed Economy.[2][3]

Political advocacy

Sawant is a Marxist, a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and a member of the Trotskyist political party Socialist Alternative.[4][5] She is a supporter of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, implementing rent control, protecting public sector unions from layoffs, instituting higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for public union jobs and services, using government to organize mass protests, a moratorium on deportations of illegal immigrants from Seattle and granting unconditional citizenship for all persons currently in the United States without citizenship. Sawant opposes the Measures of Academic Progress test in public schools and has called for their boycott.[6]

Sawant has called for large Seattle companies to be unionized and has spoken is favor of the collectivization of the Seattle-based company Amazon.com.[6][7]

Candidacies

Washington House of Representatives

Sawant was a candidate for the Socialist Alternative party for Position 1 in the 43rd District of the Washington House of Representatives, representing Seattle. Sawant advanced past the primaries with a write-in win for Position 2, while also advancing in Position 1 where she was on the ballot challenging Jamie Pedersen. Sawant also sued the Washington secretary of state for the right to list her party preference, Socialist Alternative, on the November ballot. Sawant challenged incumbent house speaker Frank Chopp in the general election on November 6, 2012. Sawant received 29% of the vote, losing the race to Chopp's 70%.[8]

The Sawant campaign criticized the raiding of Occupy Wall Street activists' homes by the Seattle Police Department's SWAT team.[9][10] She also advocated on LGBT issues, women's issues, people of color issues and cuts to education and other social programs.[11] She gave a teach-in course at an all-night course at Seattle Central Community College.[12]

Seattle City Council

Sawant ran in 2013 for Seattle City Council, position 2. She won 35% of the vote in the August primary election, and advanced into the general election against incumbent Richard Conlin.[13]

The core issues of Sawant's platform are a minimum wage increase to US$15/hour, rent control, and taxes on the wealthy. She has declared that she would donate all of her salary as a City Council person which exceeds the average salary in Seattle.[13][5]

The Seattle Stranger endorsed her state house candidacy and her city council candidacy.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ Kshama Sawant. "Candidate Personal Financial Affairs Statement" (PDF). SeattleMet.
  2. ^ a b Kshama Sawant. "Elderly Labor Supply in a Rural, Less Developed Economy: An Empirical Study. {Graduate thesis)" (PDF). North Carolina State University.
  3. ^ Robert L. Clark, "Financial Education and Retirement Savings", 3/27/2003, "[1]", 9/4/2012
  4. ^ Socialist Alternative. "Speech: Relevance of Socialism in Seattle today". YouTube.
  5. ^ a b Palash Ghosh. "Kshama Sawant: A Socialist, Indian-American Woman Running For Seattle City Council… And She May Win". International Business Times.
  6. ^ a b "Sawant Campaign Issues Page". votesawant.org.
  7. ^ David Goldstein. "The Case for Kshama Sawant". The Stranger.
  8. ^ "Legislative District 43 : Rep Position 2". King County Elections. State Legislative Races Results, November 2012 General Election. November 28, 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  9. ^ SocialistAlternative.org, "Socialistalternative.org", "http://www.socialistalternative.org/news/article10.php?id=1882]", 9/4/2012
  10. ^ Brandi Kruse, "Mynorthwest.com", 7/10/2012, "[2]", 9/4/2012
  11. ^ OlySocialistAlt, "OlyBlog.net", 2/14/12, "[3]", 9/4/12
  12. ^ Jseattle, "Capitol Hill Seattle Blog", 10/30/2011, "[4]", 9/4/2012
  13. ^ a b Young, Bob (August 6, 2013). "For Seattle council: Conlin against Sawant, O'Brien against Shen". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  14. ^ Stranger Election Control Board (July 17, 2012). "Endorsements for the August 7 Primary Election". The Stranger. Vote or We'll Kill You. Retrieved 2013-08-07.

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