Government

Federal wildland firefighters, such as engine crews, hotshots, dispatchers, and aviators, will essentially receive a significant pay cut on October 1, 2023, when the two-year BIL funding “runs out” unless Congress approves the Biden-Harris administration budget package. In March the administration submitted to Congress the budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 which includes significant funding increases for federal and tribal firefighters’ pay, invests more in their mental and physical health and wellbeing, improves their housing options, and expands the number of permanent firefighters. These reforms build on the temporary pay increase provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), yet they require authorizing legislation by both the US House of Representatives and US Senate. 

Grassroots Wildland Firefighters (GWF) would like to applaud Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) for their press conference Wednesday in support of the proposed funding package. At the conference, sharing her remarks GWF Executive Secretary Bobbie Scopa explained of firefighters that “they face a looming fiscal cliff, these brave women and men cannot help but contemplate their uncertain future in a profession that is already seeing critical shortages across the US.” Advocates cannot stress enough the importance that the package is funded intact in its entirety; it addresses many of the risks and demands faced by first responders – physical, mental, emotional, and fiscal.  

“While we are grateful to President Biden and his administration for his support of wildland firefighters, our work will not stop with this funding package being signed into law,” said Luke Mayfield, President of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters.  “These responders will continue to put their lives on the line as they serve the American public.  And their families will continue to make difficult sacrifices in supporting them in this important work. This package is the anchor point for future reforms that are still needed such as better work-life balance.” 

While the public may think a wet and snowy winter in the West means a quiet fire season, we are currently seeing devastating fires in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and other regions in the East which demonstrate that wildfires are not just a Western problem.  Scientists in California said this week they predict the state will see 400,000 to 1 million acres burn before the season ends. “Wildfires are not going away,” said Mayfield, a former hotshot firefighter.  “We are committed to ensuring this federal workforce is duly compensated and cared for so they may effectively and safely serve all citizens of the US.”

By Connor Nash

In February, US Representative Pramilla Jayapal toured Roots Young Adult shelter in an 18,000 sq foot, 4-story building blocks from the University of Washington campus. By the end of the tour, Rep. Jayapal announced that she secured $4 million for Roots from the December 2022 government funding package signed by President Biden.

Roots is a low-barrier shelter serving guests ages 18-25 experiencing homelessness in the Greater Seattle area. Today, Roots provides overnight shelter capacity, case management, a full hygiene area, and two meals daily.

“This funding is a critical step in Roots’ vision to build one safe place to be for every young adult experiencing homelessness in the region,” says Roots Executive Director Jerred Clouse. According to Clouse, most of the funds will be used to pay off the mortgage of the building, begin work on renovations, and provide more services for guests in the space.

“We have our 4th floor that is empty,” says Program Supervisor Landyn Barnhill. “Obviously, once the fourth floor gets going, having transitional housing there will be absolutely awesome.”

Creating transitional housing in the space will be a significant upgrade for Roots, especially through the number of beds that will be activated. There are plans for more drop-in services, day services, expanded medical and mental health resources, and employment services.

In April 2022, Rep Jayapal released Community based funding requests from constituents organizations, totaling over $53.4 million. Roots requested for its capital campaign. Other requests included $5 million for a non-motorized bridge project in Shoreline, $20 million for the Thunderbird Treatment Center on Vashon Island, and $500,000 for the restoration of the 1926 Mukai Cold Process Fruit Barreling Plant.

By December 2022, Rep  Jayapal’s community request received $33.4 million in funding, with $4 million going to Roots. The most considerable difference between the funds requested and the funds appropriated was the Thunderbird Treatment Center, receiving only $4 million.

Reading a Congressional appropriation bill can be confusing with hundreds of pages and millions of run-on sentences. Nowhere in the funding was there explicit funding of $4 million to Roots Young Adult Shelter, or specifically Seattle-based youth homeless shelters.

The money allocated for Roots came from Community Projects Funding. To receive funding proposals are submitted by nonprofits and are then endorsed by their Reps. Projects must demonstrate community support, have no financial connections to the US Representative or their household, and be funding an eligible nonprofit.

According to the documentation provided by Rep. Jayapal’s office, Roots received support from WA Senator Patty Murray. Few WA Community Projects received support from both a Rep and a Senator, with the majority supported by only one.

History of Roots

For over two decades, over 8,500 guests have been served.  Even through multiple moves, Roots has not been closed for one day, providing services 365 days a year.

In September 2019, Roots purchased its current location, the site of the former Alpha Epsilon Phi fraternity,  through multiple government and nonprofit agencies. After some initial renovations, Roots officially moved in on March 15, 2021.

Roots have raised $7.5 million toward the capital campaign goal of $12.5 – $15 million according to Roots Capital Campaign Manager Jordan Beaudry. Funding sources include the $4 million secured by Rep Jayapal, $1.5 million each from the City of Seattle and the State of WA, and nearly $500,000 from foundation support.

By Connor Nash

Photo courtesy of Roots Young Adult Shelter

By Connor Nash

On Jan 19, Councilmember Sawant announced that she would not seek reelection but instead start Workers Strike Back, an independent campaign led by and for “rank and file workers.” In her announcement speech, Sawant lambasted not only her usual opponents like Amazon, the parasitic capitalist class, and the corrupt democratic politicians but also her fellow Socialists. She stated:

“…[S]ince 2013 more than 200 self-identified Democratic Socialists candidates have been elected nationally, but unfortunately, with rare exceptions, many have abandoned their campaign promises…”

But it seems Sawant herself has abandoned her most central campaign promise: that she is not in politics for the money. Sawant promised Seattle voters that she would refuse to accept her full councilmember salary, and as a 2013 Seattle Times article states,”… will donate all but about $40,000 to mass movements for social justice.”

The Councilmember has repeated this campaign promise throughout her political career, most recently at a 2022 Starbucks Workers Rally claiming “I accept only the average worker’s wage, taking home only $40,000 of my $146,000 City Council salary, after taxes…”

Despite repeating this promise for nearly a decade, Sawant has failed to fulfill it even once while she has been in office. The total donation goal during Sawant’s tenure in office would be nearly $378,000, but according to her records, she only donated $234,000, a shortfall of $150,000. Of the funds that have been donated and reported, over $181,000 worth of donations went to organizations that have a direct financial connection to Sawant or her household. In total Sawant only donated $52,233.68 to other social justice organizations.

Dr. Phil says, “The best predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior.” So, as we predict how Workers Strike Back will be run, let’s focus on how the Kshama Solidarity Fund and Campaign have been run and which “social justice movements” have received the most.

I also want to apologize for the number of numbers in this article, it can be confusing which is inherent in any article focusing on any organization’s financials. A TLDR is located at the end.

Kshama Solidarity Fund

Located on her political party website, the Socialist Alternative, Councilmember Sawant posts the donations made by the Solidarity Campaign each year. Every year the councilmember failed to donate the website’s stated goal of $42,000 a year, coming close in 2016 ($40,675) and 2019 ($38,974.85). In other years, the Councilmember was severely under her stated goal; $21,424.53 was donated in 2018, $24,518.30 in 2020, and $4,473 in 2021.

Although the Councilmember failed to donate nearly $150,000 over the past decade, she has donated around $234,000, which is to be admired. However, of the total funds donated, 77% were donated to organizations in which Sawant or her household has a vested financial interest.

The organization that the Councilmember donated to the most was 15Now, a Seattle-based nonprofit focused on a $15 minimum wage that was registered and run by her husband, Calvin Priest. The Kshama Solidarity campaign stated they donated over $93,000 to 15Now between 2014-2020, many years had high-dollar donations; $19,000 in 2015, $18,000 in 2017, and $7,200 in 2020.

Sawant’s donation to 15Now in 2020 stands out because that was the year the nonprofit failed to renew its nonprofit status with the WA Secretary of State. Priest is still reported to be an officer of 15Now, according to the Councilmember’s 2022 financial disclosure form, even though the 15Now website has not been updated in nearly five years and their Twitter account for almost two years.

2020 was also the year Sawant donated $10,000 to Tax Amazon, an organization created by the Councilmember and whose husband, Priest, was the Political Director. Priest claimed to have earned between $10,000 – $24,999 that year according to the Councilmember’s 2021 financial disclosure form. Tax Amazon operated for only 17 months and was administratively dissolved in September 2021, according to the WA Secretary of State.

The second largest receiver of the Kshama Solidarity Fund is Socialist Alternative, the Councilmember’s political party, receiving nearly $79,000 from 2014-2021. Again, large value donations were made to the political party; $13,800 in 2016 and 2017, and $21,200 in 2019. In return, the Councilmember received trips from the Socialist Alternative party totaling $23,506. Between 2015 and 2020, the Councilmember was flown around the world from Boston and Minneapolis to Brussels and Brazil, all paid for by her political party.

Sawant does report a wide variety of donations to other social justice movements throughout the years including: PFLAG ($22.02), flowers for Edmund Witter($66), the Fair Work Center ($50), memorial flowers for Amina Ahmed ($47.28), graffiti removal ($100), and flowers for activist Imogene Williams ($58.30).

Although these donations seem cherry-picked, they are not outliers, roughly 73% of all the councilmember’s donations were $500 or less. Any amount donated to these organizations and florists is helpful, but the Councilmember has enough in her fund balance to double all donations of $500 or less and have funds left over.

Although Sawant’s Socialist Alternative website shows $0 donated by the Councilmember in 2022, she does claim to have made some donations: $5,000 to the Seattle Educators Strike Fund and $5,000 to the Starbuck workers strike fund.

Kshama Solidarity Campaign (2021)

Kshama Solidarity Fund’s purpose is to donate money from the fund to social justice organizations, while the Kshama Solidarity Campaign’s main goal was to reelect the Councilmember. The Solidarity Campaign is a blueprint for what the political arm of the future Workers Strike Back movement will be. The financial disclosures during the 2021 Recall race show transactions that counter its overall mission, to go after big businesses and the “parasitic capitalists.”

From March to December 2021, the Solidarity campaign made over four dozen transactions at Amazon totaling over $14,000. Purchases include button supplies, ink toner, canopies, printers, paper towels, more canopies, more ink, reusable bags, more canopies, more ink, etc. All the canopies and printers were essential to Sawant’s win in creating her legal pop-up voting sites. The campaign did return over $6,000 worth of equipment in 2022, once the Recall race was over.

Along with Amazon, the campaign made over $3,000 in purchases at Home Depot, which according to Open Secrets is a major donor to the National Republican Senatorial and Congressional Committees. Purchases made at Home Depot were for supplies such as umbrellas, chairs, and more canopies.

These thousands of dollars worth of purchases at multiple big businesses, which attack workers’ rights and support right-wing politicians, seem counter to a Councilmember who in a recent press conference said that “the right wing is on the attack against abortion rights and LGBT issues.”

After 15Now and Tax Amazon failed to renew their nonprofit status, Priest worked on the Kshama Solidarity Campaign at $2,360 per month. Over the course of the Recall campaign, Priest made over $28,000.  Everybody deserves to be paid for their work, but this is yet another example of thousands of dollars going from a Sawant-led organization to the Sawant household. The councilmember herself donated $600 of her own money to the Solidarity Campaign, making the net amount from the Sawant household to the effort nearly -$27,400.

Looking ahead

As we predict the future work of the Workers Strike Back movement, what is the relevant recent history of the Kshama Solidarity Fund and Campaign? We can predict a failure to meet stated financial goals, a siphoning off of money from the movement to organizations directly affiliated with the Sawant household, and thousands spent at corporations that are the anthesis of the movement.

Kshama Solidarity Fund Facts

Kshama Solidarity Campaign Facts (2021)

Read the follow-up article: Sawant Denies She Failed To Donate The Majority Of Her Salary To Social Justice Orgs But Her Website Says Otherwise

– Connor Nash

The Seattle City Council has approved a massive $7.4 billion budget for the fiscal year 2023–2024. The tally was 6-3 in favor.

From low-cost housing to increased security, a wide variety of priorities is covered by the massive budget. The rising rate of inflation and the accompanying economic instability in the coming two years are important motivating factors for the council.

Over the next two years, the city will invest $500 million in low-cost housing. It’s the single highest expenditure on housing-related services in Seattle’s history.

According to Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, “the great bulk of funds goes towards creating additional affordable homes,” which includes “first-time homeownership chances” and “funding to help persons being securely housed.”

After a student was shot and murdered at Ingraham High School earlier this month, the council allocated $4 million to support student mental health.

“Youth leaders were instrumental in bringing all parties to the table for this discussion. So that they could have a say in how those funds would be used, they requested more leeway “Mosqueda said.

The pupils pleaded for money to be allocated to mental health programs run by the school and the local community. Natalya McConnell, a Junior, was instrumental in planning the student-led demonstration at city hall 2 weeks ago.

McConnell remarked, “It simply demonstrates that with movements and organization of kids, if we stand together united, we can achieve huge improvements for the whole Seattle schools.”

Seattle citizens are understandably concerned about public safety, but councilmembers Alex Pedersen and Sara Nelson, who voted against the budget, saw it differently.

According to Nelson, “eliminating 80 permanent employees is needless. We should have given SPD the option of using pay savings to address unexpected demands.” A majority of the 80 available police officer posts went vacant. SPPD may expand its workforce by more than 120 roles. Pedersen said in a statement that the proposed budget might hamper recruitment and retention efforts for law enforcement personnel.

Since public safety is a top concern, Councilmember Mosqueda stated, “We’ve added funds for regional peacekeepers, funding for mental health services, gender-based violence support, juvenile violence reduction strategies, and gun crime reduction initiatives.”

The opinions of the people living and working in Seattle were crucial in shaping this budget. Over the course of the last ten weeks, the Council has completed 3 public hearings, and 9 public committee discussions, heard from hundreds of community people and presented approximately 200 modifications.

There is broad community support for Councilmember Mosqueda’s proposed budget. Councilmember Mosqueda and the City Council have passed a budget that safeguards important programs that promote food security and the healthy growth and development of children.

Tanika Thompson, co-chair of the Sweetened Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board and Got Green’s Food Access Organizer, stated, “On behalf of the Sweetened Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board, I’d want to express my gratitude for this. I realize this was a challenging budget year, but your actions demonstrate a commitment to community input, goals, and values.” After the vote, Mayor Harrell will be presented with the Council’s budget for his signing. The Executive has 10 days from when the budget is sent to his office to either sign it or veto it. If not, it will be implemented immediately.