Rob Saka is an American lawyer and politician elected to represent District 1 of the Seattle City Council.
Rob Saka | |
|---|---|
 Rob Saka, 2024 | |
| Member of the Seattle City Council from District 1 | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Lisa Herbold |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Minneapolis, MN |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Alicia Saka |
| Residence | Delridge, Seattle |
| Alma mater | University of Washington (BA) University of California, San Francisco (JD) |
Biography
editSaka 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.[1][2][3] He grew up in with financial hardships, living in public and low-income housing.[2][3] After high school, Saka joined the United States Air Force and served for ten years as an intelligence officer.[1][2]
Saka graduated from the University of Washington, then the Hastings Law School, where he earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.[1] After law school, he moved back to Seattle in the Delridge neighborhood, where he currently resides.[1][2] Saka was hired by Microsoft as a product attorney before joining Meta Platforms as an associate general counsel.[1][4]
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.[1][3][5]
Seattle city council
editElection
editIn February 2023, Saka announced that he would stand for the city council, replacing Lisa Herbold who declined to run for re-election.[3][6] He said that his campaign aligned more with District 1, compared to Herbold's progressive policies.[2] Saka's platform focused on public safety and police reform, rejecting many of the policies championed by the city council at the time.[2][5] In the August primary, Saka came in second, with 24% of the vote.[7] 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.[8] 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".[9]
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.[5][10] 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".[8] 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.[2][10]
In the November general election, Saka defeated Costa 54% to 45%.[11]
Tenure
editOnce sworn in, Saka became chair of the Transportation Committee, stating he became the "king of potholes".[12] 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.[13] 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.’[13] The council would unanimously pass the legislation and put it on the November 2024 ballot for voters to approve.[14]
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."[15]
Personal life
editSaka resides in the Delridge neighborhood with his wife and three children.[2] His wife is an environmental manager for Starbucks.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Kreig, Hannah (February 14, 2023). "Tech Lawyer Rob Saka Announces Bid for Seattle City Council District 1". The Stranger. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Oron, Guy (September 20, 2023). "Seattle City Council District 1 Candidate Rob Saka talks to Real Change". Real Change. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Staff (February 14, 2023). "Rob Saka Announces Run for Seattle City Council". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "Rob Saka". Microsoft Alumni Network. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ a b c Cohen, Josh (September 26, 2023). "Seattle City Council District 1: Maren Costa vs. Rob Saka". Cascade PBS. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Beekman, Daniel (October 11, 2023). "Seattle City Council District 1 race pits Maren Costa against Rob Saka". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "Election Results" (PDF). King County Elections. August 14, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Santos, Melissa (October 10, 2023). "What separates Costa and Saka in Seattle's District 1 council race". Axios. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Beekman, Daniel (August 15, 2023). "All 6 former opponents endorse Costa over Saka in Seattle council race". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ a b Alec Cowan; Libby Denkmann; David Hyde. "West Seattle council candidates clash over drugs, cops, sweeps". KUOW. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "General Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Daniels, Chris (June 4, 2024). "Seattle council member proposes $1.55 billion transportation levy". KOMO. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Garrett, Shawn (July 9, 2024). "Seattle City Council passes $1.55 billion Transportation Levy". KIRO. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ Martin, Casey (July 23, 2024). "'Defund is dead': Seattle leaders say it's time to hire more police". KUOW. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
- ^ "Financial Affairs Disclosure - Washington State Public Disclosure Commission". Public Disclosure Commission. Retrieved September 8, 2024.