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Four incumbents on the Seattle City Council are up for re-election this year, but only two of them face a fight in the primary.Freshman Councilmember Mike O'Brien is being challenged by businessman Albert Shen and artist David Ishii. Veteran Councilmember Richard Conlin is facing Socialist Alternative Party candidate Kshama Sawant and Amazon manager Brian Carver.KUOW's Deborah Wang sat down with all six candidates to talk about their campaigns and why they want to serve on the Seattle City Council.

Tax The Rich, Says Seattle City Council Candidate Kshama Sawant

KUOW Photo/Deborah Wang
Seattle City Council Candidate Kshama Sawant

Kshama Sawant is a Socialist Alternative Party candidate who is challenging incumbent Richard Conlin for Seattle City Council Position 2. The other candidate in the race is Amazon employee Brian Carver.

Sawant teaches economics at Seattle Central Community College. She has been active in the Occupy Seattle Movement. Last year, she ran for state House of Representatives against Democrat and long-time House Majority Leader Frank Chopp. She received 29 percent of the vote, which her campaign touted as the highest vote for a socialist candidate in decades.

Sawant is calling for a $15 minimum wage (it's currently $9.19 in Washington state) and a "millionaires' tax" to raise money for transit, education and social services.

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Year started with KUOW: 2005