TNT Endorsement: Our pick for Tacoma City Council Pos. 4

To choose a candidate to endorse for Tacoma’s district 4 representative on city council, The News Tribune editorial board spoke with the incumbent and a challenger who are both highly involved in the East Tacoma and South End communities.

Sandesh Sadalge is our pick for this office after showing a solid understanding of the housing affordability crisis. He’s the incumbent, but he hasn’t been in office for long. He was appointed to finish the remainder of Catherine Ushka’s term after she passed away in 2024.

Sadalge, 45, was on the council when it finalized the Home in Tacoma Phase 2 ordinance, and he’s familiar with the tools the city now has at its disposal to increase the affordable housing stock.

In addition to affordable housing apartment complexes like the new Patsy Surh Place, Sadalge says he prioritizes homeownership options for middle-income Tacomans. When it comes to issues like crime prevention, he emphasized creating economic stability for all residents and a fully staffed police force.

While we were hoping to hear some more specifics in the interview, the board thinks Sadalge deserves a chance to keep working on these issues, implementing what he’s learned so far.

He also voices support for small businesses and called out the city’s recent controversy over requirements imposed on restaurants to install expensive grease traps as an example of red tape he wants to eliminate. He lists endorsements from mayor Victoria Woodards, four fellow council members, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, state House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, County Executive Ryan Mello and State Rep. Jake Fey.

Sadalge was born in India and came to the U.S. at age 6. He grew up in New York City, and came to Tacoma to help run a cannabis company in 2019, which was later sold.

Silong Chhun is a community advocate and digital communications specialist for the Washington State Attorney General’s office. He was also considered for Ushka’s seat, and lists some big name endorsements of his own. Those include former governor Jay Inslee, State Rep. Sharlett Mena and city council member Jamika Scott, as well as a few unions. Chhun has impressive bona fides with his work in the community, which he’s been a part of since his family came to the U.S. from Cambodia as part of a refugee resettlement program.

Chhun, 46, lists some notable priorities on his campaign website, including government resources to protect immigrant families during federal enforcement activities, investment in minority businesses, more green spaces and a clean environment for neighborhoods in a district that historically hasn’t had as much access to either of those.

We were expecting some full-throated responses to our questions on those topics. So we were surprised when he lacked specifics, especially on the question of preventing displacement as neighborhood improvements drive up the cost of living for longtime residents.

Another candidate, Israel McKinney, declined to participate in the endorsement process.

The News Tribune Editorial Board is: Laura Hautala, opinion editor; Stephanie Pedersen, TNT president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; Justin Evans, community representative; Bart Hayes, community representative.

This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM.