Seattle's city council passed a bill that prevents companies like Amazon from spending big in local elections.
The bill prohibits companies from spending money on city elections if at least 5% of their stock is owned by foreign investors. Amazon, which is headquartered in Seattle, would fall under that umbrella, as foreign investors hold at least 9% of its stock, according toLorena Gonzalez, City Council president and the bill's author, said the campaign finance restrictions would result in a "big shift" in how corporations can influence local elections.
"We have an epidemic of big money in our elections, and this step helps to address the appearance and risk of corruption in our local elections," Gonzalez said. "Essentially, this legislation closes a loophole that previously allowed foreign persons to use their ownership in a corporation to influence political activity."Amazon poured a record $1.
Amazon's effort largely failed when socialist candidate Kshama Sawant was reelected last November. Sawant pushed for a "head tax" on the city's largest companies, such as Amazon, with the goal of using it to fight Seattle's housing crisis. The Seattle City Council
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