Sandesh Sadalge - Position 4
Council Member Sandesh Sadalge was appointed to represent District 4, covering parts of East Tacoma and the South End, in July 2024 to fulfill the remainder of former Council Member Catherine Ushka’s term. Sadalge seeks to honor Council Member Ushka’s legacy and champion her priorities as a strong advocate for District 4.
Sadalge is the first person of South Asian descent to serve on the Tacoma City Council. Born in India, he moved to America when he was six years old. Like many immigrants and District 4 residents, he grew up in a household whose first language was not English. During college, he chose to become a U.S. Citizen. According to the U.S. Census, almost a quarter of District 4 residents speak a language other than English at home. As a Council Member, Sadalge leverages his lived experience to build and strengthen relationships with his multi-lingual and immigrant neighbors.
Since moving to Tacoma in 2019, Sadalge dedicated himself to his community as a steering committee member on the award-winning McKinley Hill Neighborhood Plan and served on Tacoma’s Planning Commission as the District 4 Representative.
Sadalge also brings over 20 years of experience in the private sector, primarily in data analytics, and has helped relaunch and operate a small business in Tacoma that employed up to 30 individuals. He and his wife are members of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, and his wife owns and operates a home-based craft business in Tacoma.
Deeply committed to the well-being of youth and children, Sadalge prioritizes addressing the root causes of youth violence, especially gun violence. He is eager to champion data-driven solutions that can prevent the tragic deaths we’ve seen too often in Tacoma. Committed to families and education, he also seeks to address the childcare desert in District 4 and champion early education options that support young children, as well as provide economic support to women and families. As a housing champion, he will tackle our region’s affordable housing crisis, with a special focus on reducing displacement and increasing housing supply in Tacoma.
Council Member Sadalge lives with his wife, Maya, in the McKinley Hill Neighborhood. He has been an avid player of wall handball since he was a teen in NYC and was delighted to be able to play regularly with some of the best players in the country here in Tacoma and the Puget Sound region.