Sawant on election night. HK
Housekeeping: It’s a three-day weekend on this blog, Slog. The Stranger staff is hosting its annual HUMP Jury on Monday, and while we’d love to blog for you, we’ll be busy watching nine hours of your amateur porn submissions.
An alpha move: Earlier this morning, not-recalled Councilmember Kshama Sawant printed out posters for a victory party after the Vote No votes narrowly surpassed Yes votes by just 232 votes in last night’s ballot drop. Supporters gathered outside the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church to declare an “apparent victory” after 18 months of fighting off the recall. Not a victory-victory yet, but an apparent victory.
Some worried that the more moderate and conservative candidates sweeping Seattle’s November elections were a bad omen for Sawant’s recall: During her press conference today, Sawant took a moment to laugh in everyone’s faces, including her Democratic colleagues. She argued her fervently loyal team ran a different campaign from Council President Lorena González, who got absolutely bodied by Bruce Harrell.
Sawant repeats that Gonzalez lost because she did not have fighting demands, she campaigned on the defensive, and was unwilling to point out that Harrell was big business’s favorite bc she did not want to antagonize big business
— hannah krieg (@hannahkrieg) December 10, 2021
True to her unapologetically Marxist roots, Sawant then took another opportunity to distinguish herself from the Democrats on the Seattle City Council, who she said do not represent working people. Never one to kumbaya with the council, Sawant called for a different kind of unity than her critics implore of her: “We need unity, but the unity we need is with the working class… unity with the political establishment means only one thing, betrayal.”
The hunt for curable ballots continues: Challenged ballots could drag the thing out another week, and a recount could keep us biting our nails even longer. This afternoon, Recall Sawant campaign manager Henry Bridger admitted to Capitol Hill Seattle blog that “the ultimate outcome will likely fall short of removing Sawant from office,” but it’s unclear if the campaign will request a recount. Either side has until Dec. 21 to pay for a recount if they want one. Sawant’s campaign manager has said if the Recall campaign wants to pay for a recount, the Kshama Solidarity campaign still thinks Sawant will maintain her lead. Meanwhile, they’re working to cure all the ballots just the same.
STOP THE COUNT: Not everyone is happy about the results, and the Seattle Times Editorial Board continues to stoke the flames of voter fraud. The sentiment has spread to hell on earth, AKA the Slog comments the Seattle subreddit, where people are arguing over the heinous suggestion that unhoused people should not have voting rights.
a significant amount of Seattle, encouraged by the @seattletimes editorial board, are turning against democracy in real time.
it’s utterly repugnant and dangerously irresponsible https://t.co/pvnj30OM7e
— Kamau (@Kamaumaumau) December 10, 2021
One last bit on Sawant before we leave for the weekend: As of this afternoon 50.31% of D3 voters want to keep the socialist and 49.69% want her out. Sawant upped her lead by 17 ballots.
Yo, is Doug… okay? Infamous Freedom Caucus founding member and COVID-19 restriction Republican Sen. Doug Ericksen of Ferndale has been real quiet since he reportedly received treatment for COVID-19 in Florida. The News Tribune has the story.
Staff unable to comment, texts to Ericksen unanswered. https://t.co/5WT5lCjsp1
— Tacoma News Tribune (@thenewstribune) December 10, 2021
Also is Ann Davison okay? The city attorney-elect is not even in office yet and she’s already fighting the council over super casual transparency requirements??
Sports news because Girmay said so:
Yesss the @Seahawks just announced they will be our longterm partners on the Youth Achievement Center and will invest $500,000 (!!!) to help us to build supportive housing for youth in South Seattle! Thank you 🦅
Story: https://t.co/PAtSXNJCj6
Support: https://t.co/CfjOcZ3tOg pic.twitter.com/gOxhwtrJfm
— Girmay Zahilay (@GirmayZahilay) December 9, 2021
Omicron may not end our pitiful existence: It is your right, your god-given right, to freak out about any new strain of COVID-19. But the latest from the New York Times suggests you may not need to go out and panic-buy toilet paper. So far, of the 43 known omicron infections in the U.S., only one person was briefly hospitalized and no one has died.
Teachers, stop saying the N-word to your students, please: According to a letter to families of Rainier Beach High School, the district will conduct an investigation on a teacher who used the N-word while speaking to a student during class on Thursday, KIRO 7 reports.
Durkan’s parting gift: Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a $95,660,000 investment in affordable housing which will result in over 1,000 new apartment units.
Presale fail: One could say “it’s brutal out here” for the cool Gen Zers hoping to scream-cry with pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo in her debut “Sour Tour.” Tickets were near impossible to get when they went on sale today. Some fans reported waiting in queues of up to 90,000 people for low-capacity venues. If you’re hoping to catch a resale ticket, it could run you up to $9k, according to SF Gate.
Seeing people actually secure their Olivia Rodrigo Sour tour tickets… pic.twitter.com/QfHnkd9Z4U
— Sancheezzzy 🎄 (@Scoby20) December 10, 2021
Most influential: The Seattle Met made a diverse list of the 100 most influential people in Seattle, including former FOX13 reporter Brandi Kruse, Nikkita Oliver, and The Stranger’s own Dan Savage.
Let’s end the week with Sonic saying, “Fuck your Seattle dog, Seattle.”
Also, dead people: Mudede wrote about them.
Recent Comments