Kshama Sawant Calls For Eviction Ban During Coronavirus Outbreak

SEATTLE, WA — Citing the economic downturn that the new coronavirus has caused in the Seattle area, City Councilmember Kshama Sawant called on Mayor Jenny Durkan on Wednesday to halt all evictions and foreclosures in the city — for residents as well as small businesses.

"You are obliged to act urgently under your emergency powers, which the Seattle City Council granted with a vote last week," Sawant wrote in a letter to Durkan.

Sawant joins a cohort of advocacy and labor groups who called for an eviction ban earlier this week, saying that keeping people housed would help halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, small businesses around Seattle are suffering from steep drops in customers as residents choose to self-isolate and companies ask employees to work from home.

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"In Seattle right now, tens of thousands of workers ... are waking up worried about basic survival," Sawant wrote. "Without the City’s immediate intervention, renters will be evicted and small business owners will go bankrupt."

She cited the city of San Jose, which passed a 30-day evictions moratorium on Tuesday in an effort to protect vulnerable residents.

In a statement to Patch, Durkan's office did not comment specifically on Sawant's proposal, but said the mayor has worked with the City Council to help "small businesses and working people."

"She appreciates the collaborative efforts of many councilmembers who have directly reached out to her and have been working with departments on key issues to provide aid to working people and vulnerable communities," a Mayor's Office spokesperson said.

"We appreciate that Council is working on other ideas, and our office stands will to work with any councilmember on their ideas. Understanding this requires significantly more state and federal resources, the Mayor also hopes that councilmembers will join her to advocate for more resources."

Sawant's letter also calls on the mayor to expand the city's tiny house villages, require landlords to extend expiring leases for three months after the emergency declaration, and require utilities to work out payment plans to let tenants take an extra 24 months to make payments.

The proposal comes one month after the City Council passed a three-month ban on winter evictions, which supporters said will keep people from sleeping on the streets during the coldest months of the year.

Mayor Durkan said Tuesday that the city will help residents pay utility bills to avoid having their electricity or water shut off during the outbreak.

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