Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant has twice been sued for defamation because of comments she separately made about police officers and a local landlord. Although her allegedly defamatory comments were not spoken to advance a specific public policy, the City of Seattle may still pay for her defense of the lawsuits. As reported by the Seattle Times, defending both lawsuits against Councilmember Sawant may cost the City of Seattle $300,000. The people of Seattle deserve to have their tax dollars spent more prudently than to defend the allegedly defamatory words of a councilmember. We ask Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Council President, to reject using public funds to defend the defamation lawsuits against Councilmember Kshama Sawant.