A King County Superior Court judge has denied Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant’s motion to reconsider certifying a petition recalling her from office.
In a four-page decision released on Monday, Judge Jim Rogers determined that the petition to recall Sawant, filed in August by Seattle resident Ernest Lou, would move forward.
Four of the petition’s original six charges were upheld by Rogers and accuse Sawant of a range of professional misconduct.
The petition alleges that Sawant misused her authority as a city council member by admitting hundreds of protesters into Seattle City Hall last summer.
Lou also claims Sawant misused city resources to promote the “Tax Amazon” ballot initiative and disregarded city hiring rules.
Sawant, according to the petition, violated the state’s Address Confidentiality Program by leading a protest at Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s home.
Rogers stressed his decision took no position on Sawant’s recall from office and ruled on the validity of the petition’s four remaining charges.
“Courts do not have the authority to look at the truthfulness of the charges or question the underlying motivations,” Rogers wrote.
In response to the council member’s prior appeal, Rogers wrote further that Sawant “is presumed to have knowledge of the law and ethical code.”
Her awareness of the city’s professional standards has no bearing on the validity of the charges, Rogers concluded.
Lou must collect more than 10,700 certified signatures from registered voters, or roughly 25% of total votes cast in the city’s previous District 3 election.
If Lou gathers enough signatures, Sawant could be recalled in a special election as early as February 9, 2021.
Last month, the Seattle City Council decided that Sawant’s legal fees in the case would be paid for by the city as has been the case with previous city council members.
A petition to recall Durkan from office for her handling of Seattle protests and citywide police tactics was thrown out of the Supreme Court of Washington last week after a months-long legal battle over the summer.
