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Rob Saka

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American politician

Rob Saka
Rob Saka, 2024
Member of the Seattle City Council
from District 1
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2024
Preceded byLisa Herbold
Personal details
BornMinneapolis, MN
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAlicia Saka
ResidenceDelridge, Seattle
Alma materUniversity of Washington (BA)
University of California, San Francisco (JD)

Rob Saka is an American lawyer and politician elected to represent District 1 of the Seattle City Council.

Biography

Saka was born in Minneapolis, MN and grew up in the foster care system before his Nigerian immigrant father "rescued" him and began raising him as a single father. He grew up in with financial hardships, living in public and low-income housing. After high school, Saka joined the United States Air Force and served for ten years as an intelligence officer.

Saka graduated from the University of Washington, then the Hastings Law School, where he earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. After law school, he moved back to Seattle in the Delridge neighborhood, where he currently resides. Saka was hired by Microsoft as a product attorney before joining Meta Platforms as an associate general counsel.

Before his city council run, Saka was appointed to several city and county commissions, including the King County Charter Review Commission, the King County Redistricting Commission, and a Seattle Police Chief search committee.

Seattle city council

Election

In February 2023, Saka announced that he would stand for the city council, replacing Lisa Herbold who declined to run for re-election. He said that his campaign aligned more with District 1, compared to Herbold's progressive policies. Saka's platform focused on public safety and police reform, rejecting many of the policies championed by the city council at the time. In the August primary, Saka came in second, with 24% of the vote. Former Amazon worker and climate activist Maren Costa coming in first, with 33%. Costa was fired from Amazon in 2020 after publicly urging the company to do more to combat climate change and improve conditions for warehouse workers. After the primary, the six other candidates endorsed Costa over Saka despite wide policy differences, saying "She has experience fighting for justice and a better world".

Saka and Costa had some similar policy proposals regarding public safety and hiring more police. However, Saka accused Costa of flip-flopping on "defunding the police" when she stated her support for hiring additional police. Costa did not support legislation passed by the city council to prosecute low-level drug offenses, while Saka urged the council to pass the legislation, calling it a "powerful tool". Saka promoted sweeps of homeless encampments as another tool for the city to use to address homelessness and crime, while Costa openly rejected the sweeping policy under Mayor Bruce Harrell.

In the November general election, Saka defeated Costa 54% to 45%.

Tenure

Once sworn in, Saka became chair of the Transportation Committee, stating he became the "king of potholes". As chair, Saka proposed a $1.55 billion transportation levy, larger than the $1.35 billion levy proposed by Harrell, which would add an average of $41 for taxpayers. Saka added in additional projects, including sidewalks, safe routes to schools, and safety on public transit, electric charging stations, a freight program, and a ‘district project fund.’ The council would unanimously pass the legislation and put it on the November 2024 ballot for voters to approve.

While on the council, Saka supported hiring additional police, stating, "The public safety challenges that we're experiencing today are a shameful legacy of the defund the police movement. And that was wrong then. It's wrong now. Defund is Dead."

Personal life

Saka resides in the Delridge neighborhood with his wife and three children. His wife is an environmental manager for Starbucks.

References

  1. ^ Kreig, Hannah (February 14, 2023). "Tech Lawyer Rob Saka Announces Bid for Seattle City Council District 1". The Stranger. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  2. ^ Oron, Guy (September 20, 2023). "Seattle City Council District 1 Candidate Rob Saka talks to Real Change". Real Change. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Staff (February 14, 2023). "Rob Saka Announces Run for Seattle City Council". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  4. "Rob Saka". Microsoft Alumni Network. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  5. ^ Cohen, Josh (September 26, 2023). "Seattle City Council District 1: Maren Costa vs. Rob Saka". Cascade PBS. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  6. Beekman, Daniel (October 11, 2023). "Seattle City Council District 1 race pits Maren Costa against Rob Saka". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  7. "Election Results" (PDF). King County Elections. August 14, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Santos, Melissa (October 10, 2023). "What separates Costa and Saka in Seattle's District 1 council race". Axios. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  9. Beekman, Daniel (August 15, 2023). "All 6 former opponents endorse Costa over Saka in Seattle council race". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  10. ^ Alec Cowan; Libby Denkmann; David Hyde. "West Seattle council candidates clash over drugs, cops, sweeps". KUOW. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  11. "General Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  12. Ryan Packer; Doug Trumm (January 3, 2024). "Tammy Morales, Rob Saka To Chair Key Council Committees During Pivotal Year". The Urbanist. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Daniels, Chris (June 4, 2024). "Seattle council member proposes $1.55 billion transportation levy". KOMO. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  14. Garrett, Shawn (July 9, 2024). "Seattle City Council passes $1.55 billion Transportation Levy". KIRO. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  15. Martin, Casey (July 23, 2024). "'Defund is dead': Seattle leaders say it's time to hire more police". KUOW. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  16. "Financial Affairs Disclosure - Washington State Public Disclosure Commission". Public Disclosure Commission. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
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