Sawant Subject Files

Elected in 2013, Kshama Sawant was the first socialist to serve on Seattle City Council since 1877. She was born in Pune, India, and raised in Mumbai, earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Mumbai. Later she moved to the U.S. and completed a PhD in economics from North Carolina State University. After moving to Seattle, she taught at Seattle Central Community College, Seattle University, and the University of Washington Tacoma, becoming a U.S. citizen in 2010. She joined Socialist Alternative in 2006 and was active in the Occupy movement. Sawant ran unsuccessfully for the state House of Representatives in 2012 before winning her City Council seat. She served in a citywide position for two years before a charter amendment reorganized the council into districts. Elected in 2015 and 2019 to represent District 3, she narrowly survived a recall attempt in 2021 before choosing not to run again in 2023. She was associated with the successful push for a $15/hour minimum wage and an ordinance banning caste discrimination, along with advocacy for rent control, a millionaire’s tax, and free transit.