Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant prides herself in being one of the only self-proclaimed socialists elected to public office in America. Seattleites—and surrounding cities—have had front-row seats to what has become “The Sawant Show” since her election. From calling for a public take-over of Boeing to her public arrest for disorderly conduct, Sawant’s first term as a city councilmember has truly been all about, well, Sawant.
That probably explains why, out of nine Seattle City Council members, Sawant ranks second lowest in committee meeting attendance. The only person who ranked lower than Sawant was Councilmember Tom Rasmussen—and Rasmussen, unlike Sawant, isn’t planning to run again.
According to the Seattle Times, Sawant only managed to show up for 64 of the 168 (for which attendance records were available) overall committee meetings. And, she only succeeded in making it to 75% of her scheduled committee meetings.
Sawant’s lack of interest in her duties as a city councilmember falls in line with her attitude of self-importance. Sawant appears to spurn local politics just as much as she spurns local media outlets. What Sawant will never figure out (due to her ego) is that her response to the President of the United States’ State of the Union Address is not only irrelevant, it’s ridiculous.
