In a stunning turnaround, Socialist alternative candidate Kshama Sawant, who conceded on election night, now has an insurmountable 1148 vote lead in the ostensibly non-partisan Seattle City Council race that is getting national attention (yes, we are still counting votes nine days after the election).
Born in India, Sawant has a Computer Science degree from the University of Mumbai, and a PhD in Economics from North Carolina State University.
Sawant is a software engineer and teaches economics part time at Seattle Central Community College. She was a leader in the Seattle branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Her platform includes a $15 minimum wage, a millionaire's tax, ending corporate welfare, unionizing service workers, stopping the coal trains, GMO labeling, and rent control.
Nevertheless, Sawant's opponent, 16 year incumbent Richard Conlin, received the endorsement of the King County Democrats and the Democrats in all seven of the Seattle Legislative Districts.