How embarrassing for the departing Councilmember

“Support from state lawmakers could give Sawant a solid counter-argument to opponents who think her policy is a moot point until the state acts.”

No, it could not. Nothing could give a counter-argument of any kind, because it is objective, demonstrated legal fact that her policy is a moot point until the state acts.

Aside from that, I really enjoyed the large number of burns the state legislators put on CM Sawant. Better yet, the Stranger is so far deep in the tank for her, they can actually imagine she “won” any of these exchanges.

Best of all was this self-own:

“She went on to mention that she had no opportunity to bring her red shirt army down to Olympia…”

In her tenth consecutive year of legislative office, and she still believes cheap street theatre gets bills passed. Amazing. The Stranger sure knows how to pick a winner.

Acting like an asshole is an incredibly ineffective way to get things done in a legislative body where you only control 1 of 9 votes. It's an even less effective way to get things done in a body where you control zero votes.

Hannah, the term you are looking for is "lame duck"!

Maybe they “failed” to lift the rent control ban because doing so would be terrible fucking policy and would harm renters. Perhaps the Legislature is smarter than our local Idiot Sawant.

@6 exactly. Why do we keep pretending this is sound policy. The data overwhelming shows rent control hurts housing stock and renters in the long run. Sawant doesn’t care because her goal is to destroy private home ownership but any sane politician who pushes this should be thrown out of office.

"Support from state lawmakers could give Sawant a solid counter-argument to opponents who think her policy is a moot point until the state acts."

This is one of the dumber things I've read in the Stranger lately. There's no counter-argument to be made here: state law prohibits rent control. That's the whole reason Sawant is bugging state lawmakers.

I know politburo leader Sawant loves the unwavering support she gets from her TS sycophants, but publicly picking fights with Seattle democrats will only hurt the cause she pretends to care about (it’s the fight not the victory that drives her actions). As for any legislator stupid enough to back her, enjoy your current term because it will be your last.

8 I was one of those landlords. Sold the first duplex March 1st. Selling the other on Jan 1st. It’s my retirement the city council decided was there’s to risk. I have always charged below market to get good renters. The new rules make it nuts to provide housing.

8 I was one of those landlords. Sold the first duplex March 1st. Selling the other on Jan 1st. It’s my retirement the city council decided was there’s to risk. I have always charged below market to get good renters. The new rules make it nuts to provide housing.

So the votes don’t exist in the Legislature to pass relatively moderate reforms sponsored by Sen. Valdez and Rep. Pollet, so Comrade Sawant complains when they don’t respond to her more radical idea?

It’s almost as though she has absolutely no idea how politics works. Almost.

The catch is, she knows exactly how politics works - but doesn’t care. She just wants to stir the pot and make herself the center of attention.

Well played, Comrade.

Rent Control is the left's climate change denial. Hard to believe an idea guaranteed to fail to improve conditions is still being pushed...but people really like the sound of it

Hannah, Please explain what happened to you that makes you write these opinion articles. Your point of view seems informed by your personal experiences that i do not understand. Help me see where you are coming from.

5, 16, 18, stop infantilizing a grown woman in her profession. It’s gross.

she put a horrible face on progressive values.

Sawant ... that name sounds vaguely familiar ... was she the baseball commissioner?

@19: I agree. The Stranger’s overall lack of decorum (“not properly groveling … did not kiss their rings”) does not furnish an excuse for anyone else to follow suit.

@21: As @4 noted, openly antagonizing the state legislators whose support she needs wasn’t likely to bring success to her legislative effort, especially as she hadn’t engaged with them previously. The Stranger’s response, criticizing those legislators, makes me wonder if the Stranger knows anything at all about how politics actually works.

These excuses stopped being interesting years ago. TLDR - Sawant hasn't accomplished much of substance and has proven incapable of moving the needle. Most of the folks who could've been her ally are thrilled to see her go.

Sawant's proposal included a 42-member rent control board (35 being renters). That sounds like an opportunity for employing Sawant supporters and would be about as efficient as the current King County Regional Homelessness Authority. Nothing like factional fights among baby Trotskyites.

She needs to focus on driving companies out of WA, then there will be lower rent.

The Stranger posts this under every article: "we pledge our ongoing commitment to truthful, progressive journalism" LOL!!

Just about sprayed out my coffee reading that right after Hannah's kiss ass Sawant fangirling. Hannah displays no commitment to "truthful journalism" whatsoever.

Her Socialist Alternative trolling is really tiresome outside their little cult.

I am disappointed that this subject even got column inches, or e-bulletin board space.
Sawant's agenda is why I sold my 3 units, back in '18. After a 'First come first served' policy, and no criminal background checks (did you cook meth in your last apartment?) on tenant candidates led me to cut and run, or risk bankruptcy.
Seattle City Council killed small holding landlords, benefitting Corporate Landlords' profit margins.
You may ask, how did this happen? Through sheer stooopidity of our having elected an attention grabbing stentor instead of a politician, and swift passage of several bad policies intended to do the opposite of the effect they ultimately had. My next-door neighbors sold a month after I did. Their place is now a pair of 4-plexes. My buyer's "23 units, zero parking" is yet to be realized.
How does this make Seattle more fair, affordable, and diverse? Pay attention: it doesn't.
No one in their right mind will hold smaller rental properties. The neighborhoods that people want to live in are a thing of the past. This was the most ignorant thing Seattle has done since we chose to not accept federal funds for mass transit in the middle of the last century.
Please, pay attention to your politicians.
Vote. Make sure you are still registered to vote.
Get every one you know to register, and to do their diligence, and VOTE.
Too bad, the damage is done, and unlikely to be reversible.