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Kshama Sawant. Photo: Wikipedia

Kshama Sawant, the former software engineer who was elected to the Seattle city council as a socialist candidate, is pressing to bring Internet access to the city’s homeless camps.

MyNorthwest.com reports that Sawant wants to devote a portion of the $100,000 of the city’s funds that goes to homelessness for Internet service.

The issue could be seen as a divisive one, since some could argue that Internet access is not a necessity for those in the most need. But Sawant — who believes the homeless could use the Internet to research jobs and shelters — sees things differently.

“Just imagine that day you didn’t have Internet access at all,” Sawant tells KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz. “You wouldn’t be able to communicate with a lot of people and you wouldn’t be able to know what’s going on.”

The council is expected to address the issue on Monday, with Sawant also bringing up the concept of municipal broadband.

Previously on GeekWire: Many residents in state live in ‘rural information ghetto’

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