Amazon spends big to remake Seattle's liberal City Council
1 / 6Amazon City Council SpendingIn this Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019 photo, a campaign poster for Seattle City Council incumbent candidate Kshama Sawant is posted outside her campaign headquarters in Seattle. Seven of the nine Seattle City Council seats are up for grabs in next month's election, where retail giant Amazon has made unprecedented donations totaling $1.5 million to a political action committee that's supporting a slate of candidates perceived to be friendlier to business.
With seven of the nine Seattle council seats in play Nov. 5, business interests see an opportunity to shift city leadership closer to the political center and away from a bent to potentially tax big companies to fund homeless services or improve public transit. Story continuesThe elections come a year after a political debacle that damaged the council's popularity. The leaders unanimously passed the"Amazon tax," designed to make lucrative companies contribute more to affordable housing for the homeless.
Liberal council members, including Sawant, say the sweeps are inhumane and don't work. She wants money for tiny-house villages. But after Amazon weighed in, both enthusiastically endorsed her last week. She's running against Egan Orion, director of an annual gay pride festival in Seattle."When there's that much money being offered, there will be a quid-pro-quo expectation," she said."Amazon has plenty of access to the council already. What they want is elected officials who are going to bend to their will.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Driver of truck found with 39 bodies appears in British courtThe driver of a truck in which 39 people were found dead appeared in a British c...
Read more »
British PM Johnson says whole nation shocked by 39 deaths in truckBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on Monday in a book of condolences fo...
Read more »
The death of 39 people shows the human cost of hostile policiesDenying visas encourages people to try riskier routes
Read more »
Truck driver remanded at UK court over 39 dead migrantsMaurice Robinson is charged with manslaughter over the deaths of 39 Asian migrants, money laundering and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
Read more »
Driver charged with manslaughter, trafficking after 39 bodies found in tractor-trailerA 25-year-old man has been charged in connection with the 39 dead bodies that were found in the back of a tractor-trailer near London last week. Maurice Robinson, who is from Northern Ireland, appeared in court via video link on Monday and is charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic
Read more »