For the second night in a row, Socialist Alternative Seattle City Council candidate Kshama Sawant will be making an appearance with a sitting member of the governing body she hopes to soon join. Last night it was Mike O’Brien (and, of course, Mayor McGinn). Tonight it’s Nick Licata.
According to a press release from the Sawant campaign, Licata and Sawant will join forces along with activists from Standing Against Foreclosure & Eviction (SAFE) to protest bank evictions in Seattle and beyond. The event – which appears to be playing on a Halloween theme – will be outside the foreclosing home of Jane Jin Mair, whose Beacon Hill residence is scheduled to be auctioned off in December by Bank of America, according to a press release from SAFE. Also according to the SAFE press release: “Candy and Punch will be served to the ghoulish protesting trick-or-treators! BofA wants to turn Jane’s home into another haunted house! Don’t let this happen!”
Taking nothing away from the stated purpose of the event – which deserves focus of its own – the press conference, as mentioned above, will mark the second night in a row that Sawant will make a public appearance with a sitting member of the City Council. As we reported yesterday, last night at the University of Washington during an event on climate change O’Brien made what the Sawant campaign called a “significant statement” in support of the Socialist Alternative candidate’s role in this year’s race. (When reached for comment, O’Brien attempted to tamp down enthusiasm, classifying his planned statement as “short of an endorsement” and more of a general declaration in support of third-party candidates pushing issues that might not otherwise get attention.)
And tonight it’s Licata. While there’s no indication that the four-term City Council member plans any sort of similar “significant statement” (we’ve got a call in to Licata to make sure), one would assume that the man Sawant is challenging, Richard Conlin, is at least a little perturbed by two of his colleagues helping to shine a spotlight on the woman who’s trying to steal his job – especially with Election Day approaching and Sawant riding a wave of momentum.
Tonight’s event is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.