Rantz: Seattle’s socialist councilmembers collectively worth over $3.5 million

Socialists on the Seattle City Council have taken advantage of our capitalist system, getting wealthy off the low-income voters they claim to fight for.

In fact, Socialists Kshama Sawant and Tammy Morales are collectively worth over $3.5 million. In Washington state, they’re both one-percenters: the very people they regularly demonize.

Councilmembers must submit financial disclosure forms every year. It allows the public to see any potential conflicts of interest. But it has the added bonus of highlighting how many get wealthy off their socialist grift. It turns out, the only way socialism works, apparently, is selling your brand to kids who live at their parent’s homes, while convincing them to give you more power.

Kshama Sawant gets rich off hating the wealthy

Councilmember Sawant has built a brand over demonizing the rich. But while she drums up anger amongst her cult-like followers of 20-something Antifa radicals and local college professors, Sawant and her husband get rich.

Not only did Sawant list her net worth as $550,000 this year, but it’s more than doubled since 2016 when it was listed as $270,000. And that completely grassroots campaign of supporters to defend Sawant against the recall campaign she’s pretending is fueled by the right? Her husband Calvin Priest serves as its political director.

At one point, Sawant vowed to only accept an “ordinary worker’s salary” for her work of about $40,000. She would donate the remainder to the Kshama Sawant Solidarity Fund. The majority of the donations made its way back to Sawant via Socialist Alternative.

SCC Insight called this scheme “laundering” in 2017, though noted it’s legal. She stopped updating the page noting the donations in 2019.

It’s worth noting that Sawant doesn’t list her home address on her disclosure file. Presumably, she doesn’t want people showing up to harass her. Sawant faces recall, in part, for leading radicals to Mayor Jenny Durkan’s home. The mayor’s home was to be private over security concerns stemming from her job as a U.S. Attorney.

Tammy Morales, socialist one-percenter

Councilmember Tammy Morales gets upset when you remind people she’s a socialist. Perhaps she’s worried socialist Seattleites will get a look at the $3 million net worth she reported this year. She is the wealthiest on the council.

With that kind of money, one might understand how she justifies cheering on and endorsing violent riots. That kind of direct action hurts people with little power and money.

An oft-Sawant supporter on the council, Morales joined the Democratic Socialists of America. She doesn’t say when she joined. However, Morales told a local radio station she did so because the DSA was the most progressive wing of the Democrat party.

Should local Antifa radicals be upset that one of their cheerleaders on the council lives with the privilege they claim must be destroyed? Probably, though I doubt they’ll make the trek out to her multi-million dollar, waterfront property again.

Rantz: Seattle councilmember Tammy Morales dangerously endorses looting and riots

Other notable details

Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez, who desperately wants to be mayor, is on a monthly $250 payment plan to the IRS for a tax liability between $25,000 and $99,999. This could explain her poor budget decisions on the council.

Councilmember Andrew Lewis has a net worth more in line with the constituents Sawant and Morales pander to. He lists $53,000. And Councilmember Dan Strauss owes a considerable chunk of his $100,000+ net worth to a settlement after getting hit by a car.

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