JED-FM woodman BEFORE THE SEATTLE ETHICS AND ELECTIONS COMMISSION In the Matter Of Case No. 20-0] 16-1 Councilmem her Kshama Sawant NOTICE OF CHARGES To: Councilmember Kshama Sawant and The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission Pursuant to Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 2.04.0001, 2.04.075, 3.70.1001), and SMC 4.16.090.F and Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission Administrative Rule 3H, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Executive Director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission has reasonable cause to believe that Councilmember Kshama Sawant has committed material violations of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Codes. The Executive Director sets a hearing in this matter for March 4, 2020 at 4:00 in Seattle Municipal Tower Room 4080, and hereby charges as follows: Councilmember Kshama Sawant, acting by and through employees of her City Council of?ce, violated SMC 2.04.300, which bars the use of City facilities to promote or oppose candidates and ballot measures, and SMC 4.16.070.B.2, which bars the use of City resources for other than a City purpose, when she posted hyperlinks to materials on her City Council web site promoting a ballot initiative. In support of these charges, the Executive Director further states that as of this date, the Councilmember?s web site includes the following: 1. A hyperlink to a Facebook page promoting a January 25, 2020 Tax Amazon Action Conference which states: ?Our immediate task is to file a grassroots ballot initiative this February so that we can begin collecting Councilmember Sawant is listed ?rst among the hosts of the conference. Exhibit A. 2. A hyperlink to a ?Resolution to Tax Amazon and Big Business? which includes the same language. It also states: ?We will need to collect 22,000 valid signatures (likely 30,000+) of registered Seattle voters by late May in order to guarantee a spot on the November ballot.? Councilmember Sawant is listed as an original member of the Coordinating Committee. Exhibit B. 3. A hyperlink to a poster for a February 9, 2020 Tax Amazon Action Conference which states: ?Join us at our second grassroots conference: vote on a ballot initiative to put forward in 2020, and get organized to win!? The poster includes the City of Seattle seal and the first organization listed is the Of?ce of Councilmember Kshama Sawant. Exhibit C. This notice is hereby given this 10?' day of February, 2020. de?es .r w/r Wayne B?mett, Executive Director Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission APPENDIX A RELEVANT LAW SMC 2.04.300 provides in relevant part: No elected of?cial nor any employee of his or her of?ce nor any person appointed to or employed by any public of?ce or agency may use or authorize the use of any of the facilities of a public of?ce or agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting a campaign for election of any person to any of?ce or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition. Facilities of public of?ce or agency include but are not limited to use of stationery, postage, machines, and equipment, use of employees of the of?ce or agency during working hours, vehicles, of?ce space, publications of the of?ce or agency, and clientele lists of persons served by the of?cer or agency. SMC 416,070.32 provides in relevant part that no Covered Individual may: Use or attempt to use, or permit the use of any City funds, property, or personnel, for a purpose which is, or to a reasonable person would appear to be, for other than a City Events Events Related Events Join or Log Into Faoeboolt Pack Hall - End Cruel MN Tax Amazon Action Conference 25 Public Hosted by Counolrnember Kshama Sawantand others Interested Saturday. January 25. 2020 at 10:06 AM - 2:00 PM PST about 2 weeks ago Washington Hall . Show Map 153 14Ih Ave. Seatlle. washinglon 96122 143 Want - 463 Interested Share lhis event with your lriends Details Our movement is picking up steam! (in January 13. we held a powerful launch rally of our Tax Amazon 2020 campaign. with 500 people rocking washington Hail to Tax Amazon and big business to build social housing! Now join my council oflioe and a ooalition oi progressive. labor. and renters? rights organizations alongside hundreds of working people in Seattle at the ?rst of our grassmols dermcralie Tax Amazon conferences. Let?s come together as a movement to discuss different proposals for an Amazon Tait. including how much it should raise annually. what it should fund and what tax mechanism we should use. as well as to organise the grassroots strategy needed to win- During last year?s elections. Seattle?s working people rejected Amazon's attempts to buy City Hall. We now have a historic mandate for taxing Seattle's biggest corporations to build social housing ?a major expansion of social housing publicly-owned. high quality. a?ordable. green and energy- el?cient homes for people. built by union labor and an important part of a Green New Deal. But we know that big business will fight tooth and nail to maintain their corporate tax haven in Seattle. To win our Tax Amazon struggle, we will need to build a powerful movement Our immediate task is to ?le a grassroots ballot initiative this February so that we can begin oolleoting signatures to get our Amazon Tax on the November ballot. I hope you can join us. in solidarity. Councilmember Kshama Sawant See Less 1' 5? guests Tell City Council: No- tax 1:00 PM PST at Seel?e Git)!I Hail 7'5 guests Forgot aecou' nl'? Log in 0f Tue. Feb 25 PST at Clock-Out :15 . 50 9:45:1ng want to Facebool-t? Tenant Tue. Feb 13 PST at Ma's 50 guests TRU Potluck Social In Annual Thu. Feb 20 PST at Sealtle guests Share The Cities CARPDOL Sun. Feb 23 PST at Ncn1hwest ?13 guests English (US: - Espa?oi Ponugu?sl?rasil} FrenqaisiFrance] [leulsch Privacy Terms - Advertising Ad Choices Cookies - More Face-book 202D Nb 'l 3V 3 Resolution to Tax Amazon and Big Business - Fund Social Housing and a Green New Deal Proposal to Jan 25, 2020 Tax Amazon Action Conference We, the attendees of this ?rst Action Conference of the Tax Amazon movement affirm the following: Our city is in the midst of the worst affordability crisis in its history. At the same time, our entire planet is in the midst of a climate crisis that threatens the very stability of human societies around the world. Amazon and other big corporations in Seattle make billions in profits annually, yet pay little to nothing in taxes. Ordinary people - disproportionately people of color - are bearing the brunt of both our housing and climate crises, while continuing to shoulder the overwhelming burden of taxation for the services we desperately need. In last year?s City Council elections, working people roundly rejected Amazon's attempts to buy City Hall while a post-election poll showed 75% support for taxing big business. In the context of deep inequality, Trump's corporate tax cuts, and a highly regressive Washington State tax system, there is growing recognition the billionaires need to pay their fair share! This is why our Tax Amazon 2020 movement is ?ghting for a tax on our city?s biggest corporations to fund a major expansion of social housing publicly-owned. high quality, permanently affordable, green and energy-ef?cient homes for working people, built by union labor as part of a broader Green New Deal. We recognize that our struggle is one part of a much larger ?ght for social justice, housing justice, workers' rights, racial justice, equality, gender justice, and for an alternative to the bankrupt system of capitalism and its threat of climate catastrophe. Our immediate task is to ?le a grassroots ballot initiative to Tax Amazon and big business so that we can begin collecting signatures. We know that big business will ?ght tooth and nail to maintain their corporate tax haven in Seattle. Winning will require a bold, fighting strategy and message that can mobilize working and middle-class people, tech workers, students, retirees, small businesses, Amazon workers, people of color, the faith community, the community, and all everyday people. It requires we be unafraid to honestly call out Jeff Bezos and Amazon for their tax-dodging and bullying methods. It would be a serious mistake to base ourselves on the idea of collaboration or negotiation with Amazon and big business executives, who will ?ercely oppose us as they did in 2018 and again last year. Instead we need to build a strong, united movement. Our message: Tax Amazon and big business. NOT working people! All major decisions on this campaign will be based on grassroots democracy and made in mass Action Conferences like this one on January 25, 2020, where all members of our movement can debate and vote. At this Conference, we are also electing a Coordinating Committee to carry out the decisions of this Conference and to organize future Action Conferences. The Coordinating Committee will strive for consensus or broad agreement. Coordinating Committee members can send a designated representative in their place as needed. The initial committee is made up of the following individuals and organizations, fully accountable to our movement and subject to recall and reelection by future Action Conferences: Kshama Sawant, socialist Seattle City Councilmember (Committee Co-Chair) Nikkita Oliver, Seattle People?s Party" (Committee Co?Chair) Alec Connon, 350 Seattle David Parsons, UAW 4121 Calvin Priest, Socialist Alternative Harris, Democratic Socialists of America Violet Lavatai, Tenants Union Katie Wilson. Transit Riders Union? Paula Lukaszek, WFSE 1488 Kathy Yasi, SEIU 925* Scott Morrow, Nickelsville Reverend Angela Ying, Bethany UCC Logan Swan, Ironworkers 86* Barbara Phinney, 32nd LD Democrats* Margaret Cary, Working Families Party Personal capacity only, pending decision by the organization The Coordinating Committee cannot be accountable in name only members and their organizations must play an active and committed role in building our movement. The basis of the composition of the Committee is not ?shareholder democracy," where membership is determined by cash commitments, but rather a balance re?ective of our movement and representative of our ?ghting strategy for a strong Amazon Tax. The Committee will establish an umbrella 501 (c)4 or other structure, where funding for joint activities can be directed and managed, accountable and reported to the movement. Individual organizations will continue to fundraise and make separate expenditures to build the movement. The following features of our grassroots ballot initiative are agreed to by this Action Conference: - The Amazon Tax will fund social housing all housing will be union?built, Priority Hire, energy-ef?cient, and green. Dn-site child care services will be incorporated where possible. The Amazon Tax will fund additional Green New Deal programs including making existing homes green and helping to eliminate fossil fuels, with work carried out by union labor and Priority Hire. We will explore other GND program options, including transit. I All cooperatives, nonpro?ts and small businesses will be excluded from the tax. The Tax Amazon Action Conference will meet again in February. The Coordinating Committee will seek to ?le one or more versions of the ballot language in advance of the conference, subject to a ?nal vote of approval by the Conference. We will need to collect 22,000 valid signatures (likely 30,000+) of registered Seattle voters by late May in order to guarantee a spot on the November ballot. If the Seattle City Council passes a strong Amazon Tax, our movement may choose not to turn in these signatures. But with this major outreach effort in front of us, and no guarantee that City Council will act, we cannot afford to wait before ?ling the initiative and beginning to gather signatures. We recognize that our movement to Tax Amazon and big business can set a powerful example, and inspire working people around the country looking to ?ghtback. FICTION Our movement IS growing to Tax Amazon and big business to fund Social Housing and a Green New Deal! Join us at our second grassroots conference: vote on a ballot initiative to put forward in 2020, and get organized to win!