Seattle City Council approves pay for Councilmember Sawant legal defense over recall efforts

The Seattle City Council on Tuesday, with a 7-1 vote, approved a bill to fund the legal defense for Councilmember Kshama Sawant against a pending recall charge.

The recall charge, which will go before a judge Wednesday in King County Superior Court, alleged that Sawant had "used her position in violation of the law or has recklessly undermined the safety of others" including giving protesters access to City Hall, leading a march to Jenny Durkan's private residence and encouraging protesters to occupy the area near the Seattle Police Department's Precinct as part of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.

During the special meeting, several council members voiced their immediate support for the bill, citing how it was a standard practice to provide legal defense to public officials.

"I want to be clear that I'm voting yes and in doing so not commenting on the merits of the recall's allegations and voting for the values of our democracy here in Seattle," Councilmember Andrew Lewis said. "It's a slippery slope if we start picking and choosing who does or doesn't receive this legal representation."

Lewis cited the council providing legal defense for former Councilmember Richard Conlin in 2011. He also said he would "enthusiastically support" Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan if she requested legal defense provided by the city for her pending recall effort.

While he has disagreed with Sawant on policy, Councilmember Alex Pedersen said providing defense was "not about politics or personality" and also referenced Conlin's legal assistance.

Councilmember Debora Juarez was the only member to speak in direct opposition and to vote no on providing legal defense, questioning whether Sawant was acting within the scope of her official duties.

Councilmember Dan Strauss also questioned whether scope of duties was up for debate, but ultimately voted yes on the bill.

"I am not sure the actions our colleague took were within the scope of her official duties," Strauss said. "We can't continue to fund legal representation for behavior that is not within the bounds of our roles as elected officials."

Council President Lorena Gonzalez said that based on the legal advice of the city attorney, the scope of duties did not need to be considered by the council in order to authorize legal defense.

"For those people who think it is extraordinary to use taxpayer dollars to pay for legal defense, this is not a novel idea, as we have a criminal justice system built on the concept of providing free legal defense to those who request it," Gonzalez stated.

City Attorney Pete Holmes said he approved of providing the defense requested by Sawant.

Sawant was not present on the meeting and did not vote on the bill as she recused herself.

Durkan also faces a recall effort that could result in her being removed from office, and has appealed to the state's Supreme Court arguing that the recall push is based on policy disagreement, not violation of law.

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