SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Founder of ‘Recall Sawant’ says he’s opposite of ‘right winger’ and has a plan for signature gathering
Apr 2, 2021, 3:02 PM | Updated: Apr 5, 2021, 7:47 am
Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant speaks as demonstrators hold a rally outside of the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct on June 8, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
The State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Recall Sawant effort can move forward with its efforts.
Founder of the recall effort, Ernie Lou, told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson he wants to clarify he’s the opposite of a “right winger.” He’s a gay Asian-American who lives on Capitol Hill and supports the $15 an hour minimum wage and the Green New Deal.
Lou says about 85% of the donations to the recall effort are from Seattle, and he estimates that 55-60% of Sawant’s donations are from out of state. He said he’s getting a lot of support from voters in Sawant’s district.
“I know that she did get re-elected in 2019 by a very slim margin, but I believe we will win. We need to get 10,800 signatures. We have 180 days to gather those signatures,” Lou said, adding that most of the donations pay for legal fees.
You can read more about Lou’s Recall Sawant campaign at Sawantrecall.org and sign the petition. To sign, you do have to live in District 3 (Capitol Hill, Madison Park, Leschi, and Madrona).
Lou told Dori he plans to send mailers to the precincts where Sawant’s 2019 opponent, Egan Orion, performed in the last District 3 council election. By doing that, he believes he can get the required signatures in the next 60 days.
Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
