Candidate Profile: Christie Sanam, Bellevue City Council, Pos. 2

BELLEVUE, WA — Voting is underway and the 2021 primary election is heating up in King County ahead of Election Day, Aug. 3. Nearly 650 candidates are seeking various offices in 2021, beating the previous record set in 2017. Out of that total, more than 200 candidates appear in the primary, which features all the races with three or more people seeking the same office.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles leading up to Election Day.

Candidate

Christie Sanam

Age (as of Election Day)

38

Position Sought

Bellevue City Council Position 2

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Ravi Sanam - Husband

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

no

Education

BS - Computer Engineering - UCF Orlando

Occupation

Program Manager at Amazon (career experience = 13 years)

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

PCO

Campaign website

https://tinyurl.com/christiefo...

Why are you seeking elective office?

I believe in doing my part for the community and want to see a positive change for Bellevue

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Affordable Housing - I want to forge strategic partnerships with the city and developers to ensure that Bellevue can be a home for all people regardless of age of occupation. I believe that developers and big businesses can help do their part to ensure enough space is built for people with low income, people at risk of being in low income, and people displaced by the pandemic. This also includes shelter space and resources to help treat and prevent further homelessness.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My lived experience as a woman, my marriage with an immigrant and connection to South Asian community of Bellevue, my deeply technical expertise and data driven approach to decision making

What are some of your priorities for a post-pandemic recovery?

Healthcare for all, ensuring people dont lose their homes after the eviction moratorium is up, solving the disenfranchisement of the majority-minority city of Bellevue and giving a voice (or even votes? there is precedent in other towns) to our immigrant residents

What would you do in office to strengthen preparedness and response efforts for extreme heat and wildfire smoke events?

Create response plans for emergencies (they were non existent this time around sadly), retrofit programs to help equip homes with cooling and filtration, air quality monitoring programs

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

the incumbent has made contributions but has failed to remain passionate and actionable toward newer issues that effect the city. Its landscape and challenges have completely changed over the years

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Overall fairly well in terms of enforcing mask wearing and helping people get resources. I did not like the ability of anti mask protests to happen with its public safety risk and politicization of public health. i think there are definitely lessons learned to take away and help shape future response

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Climate change, transportation, disenfranchisement, stacked rank voting, animal welfare

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I've been a very successful program manager in my technical career solutioning for all kinds of problems so my brain loves to create win win situations out of issues. I've also managed events and community outreach of up to 7000 people per event so being connected to the community is very important to me. I'm also currently a PCO in my precinct to help encourage people to vote and to engage in grass roots efforts.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Remember that everyone is your neighbor on this spaceship Earth.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I pause to acknowledge that by being a Bellevue resident I reside on the traditional and occupied land of the Coast Salish Peoples – past, present, and future – that includes but is not limited to: Snoqualmie, Suquamish, Duwamish, Nisqually, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot (Smulkamish, Stkamish, Skopamish, and Upper Puyallup). I honor their connection to the region, pay respect to Coast Salish Elders past and present, and stand in solidarity through their struggles with continued systemic oppression. I commit to care for the land and water, and center equity at the core of our (un)learning.