The City Council just voted 7-1 to authorize the City Attorney to provide legal support for Council member Sawant in defending against the recall petition filed against her. Juarez was the sole "no" vote.

There was lots of debate about how they should decide it. Here's the relevant state law: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.96.041

Subsections 1 and 2 refer to paying for defense against lawsuits, & give very specific guidance on criteria for deciding whether to authorize it. Subsection 3 talks about recall petitions, and provide no guidance on criteria. The City Atty's office said only subsection 3 applies.

The council members all pretty much agreed not to make it political or personal, but only about what the law says and the precedents.

Of course the irony there is that Sawant would have made it political, because she believes everything the Council does is political. That's not a dig at Sawant; "all actions are political actions" is a legitimate political philosophy that has its adherents.