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Amazon Spending to Take Seattle Council Isn’t Paying Off So Far

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc.’s attempt to overhaul the Seattle City Council through political donations may have fallen short, initial election returns suggest.While only some ballots have been counted, early results on Tuesday night indicate that Amazon-backed candidates won’t win a majority of the nine seat council. Only four of Amazon’s choices lead in the early count and one of those by a slim margin.Amazon, the biggest employer in Seattle, contributed $1.45 million to a business-backed political-action committee to help elect council members Amazon views as more favorable to its interests and those of the business community.The group, called the Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy, backed six new candidates for seven open council seats. Three of them are trailing in early results. It also backed one incumbent, who is leading her race. Two positions were not up for election this year.But the retail giant may still attain its biggest local election prize -- the defeat of local socialist and chief Amazon antagonist Kshama Sawant, who trails rival Egan Orion, a candidate who garnered personal donations from at least 18 Amazon executives.Yet even that victory is far from assured as Sawant made a late come back in a previous election six years ago. Washington State votes by mail-in ballot so close races can often take days to count.The election and a bitter primary this August have divided Seattle, a city facing rapid expansion in the technology sector along with crippling traffic and worries about high housing costs and persistent homelessness.The spending on the local races reflect a potential pushback from business as progressive politicians gain prominence nationally. It also framed the election as a test of whether money from deep-pocketed companies would be effective on a public wary of corporate influence in politics.U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren criticized Amazon’s spending on the Seattle races as they vie for the Democratic presidential nomination.Seattle’s business revolt ignited last year as the city considered a tax on large employers to fund homeless services. After the measure passed in May 2018, Amazon helped lead a resistance that ultimately ended in the measure’s repeal a month later. Since then, the company has made several announcements about its intentions to expand in Bellevue, just east of Seattle.To contact the reporter on this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at [email protected], Colum Murphy, Edwin ChanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P. Read More...

(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc.’s attempt to overhaul the Seattle City Council through political donations may have fallen short, initial election returns suggest.

While only some ballots have been counted, early results on Tuesday night indicate that Amazon-backed candidates won’t win a majority of the nine seat council. Only four of Amazon’s choices lead in the early count and one of those by a slim margin.

Amazon, the biggest employer in Seattle, contributed $1.45 million to a business-backed political-action committee to help elect council members Amazon views as more favorable to its interests and those of the business community.

The group, called the Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy, backed six new candidates for seven open council seats. Three of them are trailing in early results. It also backed one incumbent, who is leading her race. Two positions were not up for election this year.

But the retail giant may still attain its biggest local election prize — the defeat of local socialist and chief Amazon antagonist Kshama Sawant, who trails rival Egan Orion, a candidate who garnered personal donations from at least 18 Amazon executives.

Yet even that victory is far from assured as Sawant made a late come back in a previous election six years ago. Washington State votes by mail-in ballot so close races can often take days to count.

The election and a bitter primary this August have divided Seattle, a city facing rapid expansion in the technology sector along with crippling traffic and worries about high housing costs and persistent homelessness.

The spending on the local races reflect a potential pushback from business as progressive politicians gain prominence nationally. It also framed the election as a test of whether money from deep-pocketed companies would be effective on a public wary of corporate influence in politics.

U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren criticized Amazon’s spending on the Seattle races as they vie for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Seattle’s business revolt ignited last year as the city considered a tax on large employers to fund homeless services. After the measure passed in May 2018, Amazon helped lead a resistance that ultimately ended in the measure’s repeal a month later. Since then, the company has made several announcements about its intentions to expand in Bellevue, just east of Seattle.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at [email protected], Colum Murphy, Edwin Chan

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com” data-reactid=”30″>For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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