Tacoma council District 4 seat is up for election. Here’s Q&A with candidates
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Tacoma Municipal Elections 2025
Half the the Tacoma City Council and the mayor are up for election this year. These Q&As give the candidates’ plans for the city in their own words.
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Tacoma’s City Council District 4 is in an era of transition.
After former council member Catherine Ushka died in May of 2024, the council appointed Sandesh Sadalge to hold the seat for the remaining year of her term. Sadalge previously said he wasn’t interested in sticking around in the position. But he’s seek re-election and appears to be the front runner, having out-raised his opponent by almost $20,000 as of Sept. 30.
Sadalge came to Tacoma for a job at Noble Farms Cannabis, a cannabis producer. He’s focused on affordable housing, crime prevention and supporting small businesses. He has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, Mayor Victoria Woodards and Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello.
Silong Chhun, his opponent, has a background in communications and works as a digital media specialist for the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. He’s got strong support from unions like the Tacoma Education Association, the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 31 and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 367, in addition to politicians like former Washington governor Jay Inslee.
The News Tribune sent all candidates for City Council and mayor the same 10 questions to respond to in the same time frame.
Here’s what Sadalge and Chhun told The News Tribune:
What’s your full name and age?
Silong Chhun, 46
Sandesh Sadalge, 45
How long have you lived in Tacoma?
Sadalge: I’ve been visiting Tacoma for nearly a decade but made Tacoma my permanent home in 2019 to help run a local small business, Noble Farms Cannabis. My wife and I fell in love with the city and our neighborhood after purchasing a home in the McKinley Hill district. We just welcomed our first child in August, and we are excited for our future here.
Chhun: 34 years +
What is your favorite restaurant in Tacoma?
Chhun: So many but if I had to choose one it is Thọ Tường BBQ
Sadalge: I simply can’t choose a single favorite one because my wife and I love so many establishments near us. Ones we often frequent are: Dusty’s Hideaway, Vien Dong, Parky’s Pizza Bar, Buddy’s Chicken and Waffles, Top of Tacoma, Viet Kitchen, Gari of Sushi and Ericka’s Mexican Desserts. What sets the owners of all of these places apart is that they are run by people who live in and are deeply connected to our city and the communities they are part of.
Why do you want to be a city council member?
Sadalge: After my mom lost her battle with cancer, I wanted to do something meaningful rather than making wealthy people wealthier. I applied for and was appointed to fill out the remainder of my predecessor, Catherine Ushka’s term. I’m running to retain this seat because in just a short time, I’ve been able to do some meaningful things for the people I represent. My motivation to step into a life of service stems from the conversations my mom and I had towards the end of her life. She shared about her own childhood upbringing as the daughter of a farmer in rural India and the responsibility our family had to the land, the village and the people who worked the land with you, not “for” you. She spoke, too, of the heavy burden of making the right decisions, because if you didn’t, people would go hungry. I carry my mom’s commitment to service and believe deeply that the City of Tacoma’s main purpose is to serve ALL its residents. Our city can do so much more to protect and support marginalized communities, improve public safety and make living here more affordable and accessible. I’m deeply committed to this work, and I hope to continue serving the people of the Eastside and South End as their City Council Member.
Chhun: We’re at a pivotal moment in our city and this country. Tacoma needs a bold leader who doesn’t need to be briefed to learn about the community and our struggles. I believe that to move forward we need to understand our history, and I’m part of the Eastside and Southend’s history with my family setting our roots here 50 years ago. Tacoma needs a leader who has the experience to move us forward out of the challenges this city and our country is facing. I’m an experienced public servant with the relationships in the county and state legislature to advocate for not just District 4, but Tacoma as a whole.
My deep community relationships are personal as they’re professional. Having witnessed firsthand how policy decisions impact real families and neighborhoods, I understand that effective governance requires both vision and practical experience. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t, and I know how to build the coalitions necessary to deliver results.
Tacoma faces complex challenges: affordable housing, economic development, public safety and infrastructure needs. These issues demand someone who can hit the ground running, not someone learning on the job. My established relationships with regional partners mean I can secure resources and support that might otherwise be unavailable to our city.
I’m running because I believe Tacoma’s best days are ahead of us, but only if we have leadership that combines deep community knowledge with proven ability to execute. Our residents deserve a representative who understands their daily struggles because I’ve lived them, and who has the skills and connections to turn solutions into reality.
If elected, what issues would be your top priority?
Chhun: If elected, my administration will focus on three critical areas that directly impact working families in our community: protecting immigrant communities, strengthening tenant protections and advancing a comprehensive workers’ bill of rights.
Protecting Immigrant Communities: Our immigrant neighbors are essential to Tacoma’s economic and cultural richness, and District 4 is home to the largest concentration of immigrants and refugees. I will work to ensure our city remains a welcoming city, expanding access to city services regardless of immigration status, and partnering with community organizations to provide legal resources and support. We must resist federal overreach and protect families from unnecessary fear and separation. I’ve done this work for over two decades as the co-founder of the Khmer Anti-Deportation Advocacy Group.
Tenant Protection and Housing Justice: With rising rents pushing families out of neighborhoods they’ve called home for generations, we need robust tenant protections immediately. I will champion just-cause eviction ordinances, rent stabilization measures and enhanced enforcement of existing housing rental laws. Every resident deserves safe, affordable housing without fear of arbitrary displacement. On council, I will protect the tenants bill of rights.
Workers’ Bill of Rights: Working families deserve dignity and fair compensation. I will fight to raise the minimum wage to a true living wage that reflects our region’s cost of living. This includes advocating for predictable scheduling, paid sick leave expansion and protection against wage theft. When workers thrive, our entire community benefits from increased economic activity and stability.
These priorities are interconnected — they all center on ensuring that Tacoma works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. By protecting our most vulnerable residents and empowering working families, we build a stronger, more equitable city where everyone can prosper and contribute to our shared future.
Sadalge: As a city, Tacoma has been experiencing a lot of challenges. My top priority now and into the future will be to protect and advocate for my district in a world where we have a lot of chaos and turbulence from the federal level, coupled with limited assistance from the state. My district has been historically under-resourced and short-changed, and we need strong, experienced leadership so that we don’t revert to that pattern. My experience over this past year has uniquely prepared me to face the challenges we will be facing for the next four years and beyond.
Some of the things I’ve already accomplished are passing legislation to align all city departments with the Keep Washington Working Act to protect Tacomans’ rights to due process, increasing opportunities for homeownership for middle-income families and making difficult but fiscally responsible budget choices.
In addition to the usual top three concerns for most people: addressing homelessness, improving public safety, and addressing littering and neighborhood beautification, the most common concern across the entire district is to meaningfully address neighborhood traffic safety. Neighbors constantly ask for speed humps, roundabouts and traffic patrols to reduce speeds and improve safety. The city has recently resurrected the Neighborhood Traffic Program, and I will make sure that my neighbors’ comments and concerns are reflected in these policies going forward.
During my time on council, I have connected with thousands of people and heard their frustrations, complaints, and concerns first hand. I am committed to continue to listen intentionally and directly to neighbors to understand and address their concerns.
Tacoma’s 311 line has received hundreds of thousands of inquiries since its genesis over 10 years ago. Today, it receives inquiries that largely fall in the following categories: abandoned vehicles on the street, people living on public property in a motorhome or vehicle and illegal dumping on public property. What would be your plan to address those issues?
Sadalge: One thing I’ve learned about being a council member is that, by design, we have little to no power to fix individual issues ourselves. Our power rests in the council as a whole with our ability to update, refine or create policies and legislation. To that end, for me as a policy maker, Tacoma 311 issues are some of the most important data points to understand emerging issues of the day and what policies we should be reviewing and refining.
Information gathered from 311 has already led us to shape policy reviews and changes. For example, we moved the code compliance team to a new structure to increase their effectiveness. We are reviewing an overhaul to our code compliance municipal code that will streamline the process for enforcement and improve workflow. All of this has been informed by lessons learned from 311 complaints.
District 4 has unique concerns communicated through 311, which I follow closely to understand where the kinks in our system are. These unglamorous updates, conversations and reviews with residents and city staff alike are the real work that leads to a better city.
Chhun: Abandoned Vehicles: I propose streamlining the identification and removal process through enhanced coordination between departments and implementing a digital tracking system for faster response times. We’ll establish clear timelines and improve communication with residents about progress on their requests.
Vehicular Housing: This issue requires treating the root cause — our housing crisis — with dignity and urgency. Rather than criminalizing poverty, we must expand emergency shelter capacity, create safe parking programs with sanitation facilities, garbage disposal and accelerate permanent supportive housing development. I’ll work with county and state partners to establish navigation centers that connect people with services, healthcare and pathways to stable housing. Enforcement without alternatives is both inhumane and ineffective.
Illegal Dumping: We need a multi-pronged approach, including free disposal days for residents, and partnerships with community organizations for neighborhood cleanups. I’ll advocate for holding landlords accountable when their properties become dumping sites and work with waste management companies to ensure affordable disposal options exist.
Systemic Solutions: All three issues connect to economic inequality and inadequate city services. By investing in proactive code enforcement, expanding community engagement and addressing root causes like poverty and lack of affordable housing, we can reduce 311 call volume while improving quality of life for all residents. This means working regionally on housing solutions and ensuring our response systems treat all community members with respect and dignity.
Are you in favor or against the workers bill of rights?
Chhun: Yes, 100%
Sadalge: Fighting for smart and effective policies that lead to good jobs with fair pay that allow families to thrive, not just survive, is a central tenet of my campaign. Unfortunately, due to the active litigation that the City of Tacoma is part of, I cannot comment about the workers’ bill of rights and the provisions contained in it.
Do you believe the workers bill of rights belongs on the November ballot this year?
Sadalge: This question is central to the litigation that the city of Tacoma is actively involved in, and so I cannot comment on this question at this time.
Chhun: Yes.
If elected, what specific actions would you take to address the following issues: housing and homelessness, Tacoma’s budget deficit and public safety.
Chhun: Housing and Homelessness: I propose building consensus around a Housing Justice Task Force to accelerate affordable housing development through inclusionary zoning policies and public-private partnerships. Working with fellow council members, we can explore creating a dedicated housing trust fund using real estate transfer taxes and developer impact fees. For our unhoused neighbors, I propose collaborative discussions on expanding emergency shelter capacity year-round and establishing sanctioned safe parking sites with wraparound services. Together, we must work toward treating housing as a human right by developing tenant protections through just-cause eviction ordinances and rent stabilization measures.
Budget Deficit: Rather than cuts that harm working families, I propose bringing council together around progressive revenue generation strategies. This includes building coalitions to advocate for state legislation allowing local income taxes on high earners and exploring luxury real estate transfer taxes on expensive properties. I propose working collaboratively to study establishing a public bank that keeps our tax dollars working for Tacoma residents rather than enriching Wall Street institutions, and negotiating Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements with large tax-exempt institutions. Additionally, we need comprehensive budget audits to eliminate wasteful spending while protecting essential services. Through partnership, we can develop economic strategies focused on living-wage jobs to expand our tax base sustainably.
Public Safety: True public safety requires building consensus around addressing root causes of community harm. I propose facilitating discussions on reallocating portions of police budgets toward mental health crisis response teams, youth programs and community violence intervention specialists. Working together, we can expand community mediation programs and invest in restorative justice initiatives. I propose collaborative development of crisis response systems that include social workers and mental health professionals alongside law enforcement.
These interconnected solutions require regional partnerships and patient coalition-building to secure maximum resources for our community.
Sadalge: Housing: I want to build on the foundation I created to increase homeownership opportunities. We are at 56% homeownership rate in the city and even lower for BIPOC populations. The homeownership incentive I wrote ensures that developers only receive it if they sell to an actual person and not a corporation.
Homelessness: This isn’t just a city problem but a regional challenge, and I’m currently part of the executive team for Pierce County’s Unified Regional Approach to homelessness. As we work through this model, one of the end goals is to ensure we have more services available throughout the county to address the homeless crisis. I support the city’s compassion-first approach that emphasizes effective services.
Budget: I was a tiebreaking vote to make the fiscally responsible but very difficult decision to cut the budget last year to reduce our deficit going into the next biennium. This experience is invaluable as we review updates during our mid-mod this year and tackle another tough budget next year. Tacoma’s budget will be a challenge to anyone coming into this role, but I believe my experience allows me to ensure that decisions will be equitable and take the welfare of the residents of District 4 into account.
Public safety: I supported and voted to authorize a lateral incentive package that will allow us to meaningfully reduce our staffing shortage with seasoned and experienced officers. I also support alternative responses like Community Service Officers, HEAL team, HOPE team, and crisis responders. I support prioritizing and expanding them. Public safety also means investing in infrastructure that allows people to walk, run, and bike in their neighborhoods safely. Therefore, smart and intentional infrastructure projects that expand our ability to enjoy our city are a high priority for me, especially for my district.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Sadalge: I am new to politics. I became active in my community a few years ago as a way to give back and help my fellow neighbors advocate for our neighborhood. I was activated to service by programs my predecessor, Catherine Ushka, championed. It was a surprise of my life to be chosen from so many qualified applicants to fill this role. Over the past year, I have felt a deep sense of purpose and meaning in doing this work.
During this campaign, I’ve knocked on over 4,000 doors, but that singular number can’t fully encompass the growth I’ve experienced by listening to the honest and heartfelt stories people have shared with me. These comments, anecdotes, and conversations at people’s homes have already shaped how I look at policies. If elected, I will continue to lead with a strong set of values strengthened by the enriching histories of every one of the thousands of people in District 4 that I’ve met and connected with.
Chhun: Free Palestine.
