A socialist’s message to Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant

Ellen Taft lives in Seattle’s District 3. The same district Socialist Councilmember Kshama Sawant represents.

Taft was unable to express her opinions during a public hearing on the proposed head tax Wednesday morning, because even though she rode her bike from Capitol Hill, she could not find a bike rack. However, she had no problem telling reporters what she thought of the person who represents her district on the Seattle City Council.

“Resign,” she said. “You’re costing us money. You’re taking a salary and you’re not representing your constituents.”

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That rhetoric normally wouldn’t be surprising. Plenty of people have called for one or more members of the council to resign as the city struggles with homelessness and affordability. But Taft identifies as a Socialist herself.

“The job of the city council is to write laws and represent people,” she said, adding that the job of the city is not to tackle the “great issue of the day.”

“The job of the city government is to fix potholes. Run the police department. Create public housing.

“Amazon did not create the public housing problem.”

The city government has known since the 1980s that there has been a huge inequality problem, Taft said. The problem was created by successive city governments who ignored the problems and have “been catering to developers for years…”

Listen to the entire conversation here.

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