Seattle watchdog: Kshama Sawant well within rights to deliver Socialist message on city dime

Before President Obama delivered his state of the union address Tuesday night, Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant sent out a flurry of tweets and a news advisory announcing she would be delivering the Socialist response live on the city’s website.

It prompted some to question whether the outspoken councilmember was crossing the line and abusing her office to forward her own political agenda.

Video: Kshama Sawant gives Socialist response to State of the Union address

Wayne Barnett, the executive director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, oversees the conduct of all city officials. He says several criteria are used to determine whether activities that use official resources are lawful and ethical.

“The first is that she can’t promote or oppose any candidates or ballot measures without violating the elections code,” says Barnett. “Then, under the ethics code, city resources have to be used to serve a city purpose.”

Barnett says Sawant’s office consulted with him prior to Tuesday’s speech, and he determined it was well within the bounds of her office, even though she was speaking on behalf of the Socialist party and utilized city resources including the production facilities of the Seattle Channel to deliver her address.

“To me that’s more a point of view than an actual party platform,” he says. “She talked about affordable housing, she talked about the minimum wage, she talked about the gap between rich and poor, police accountability, environmental issues. Those are the kind of issues that elected officials are talking about all the time.”

Barnett has overseen the commission for over a decade. In that time, he’s ruled against a number of officials and candidates. Last year, he determined Councilmember Sally Bagshaw violated city rules by bringing pro-parks district literature to a gathering hosted by the Mayor’s Office for Senior Citzens, crossing the line by using city resources to campaign for the measure.

“It was not a huge (fine), just $150, but it did call for a penalty from our office,” says Barnett.

Most cases are generally driven by complaints, such as in the Bagshaw case when someone brought it to the commission’s attention.

“We do keep our eyes open,” he says.

While most of the fines are a slap on the wrist, Barnett insists they are an important tool in holding officials accountable.

In 2005, the commission ruled then-Mayor Greg Nickels violated elections rules by using city resources to create and mail a flier touting his accomplishments as he ran for re-election. Nickels was ordered to reimburse the city $2,205 for the printing and mailing costs, says Barnett.

“We are the eyes and ears for the public. Our job is to make sure that city government is functioning as well as possible,” he says. “But ultimately it’s up to the public to keep an eye on elected officials and living up to the standards they expect.”