♪♪
-Hi, D4.
My name is Sasha Anderson,
and I hope to earn your vote
so we can work together
to make our city more affordable,
inclusive, and climate-conscious.
So, I was 8 years old
the first time I heard the term
"trailer trash."
Walking to school,
I overheard a few classmates
say that people who lived in trailers
were lazy and worthless,
and I was so hurt and confused
because their words
didn't match my reality.
My family lived in a trailer,
but my mom is a nurse,
and dad a construction worker,
and we worked hard
for everything we had.
Around this time,
I also started realizing
that I liked girls,
not just because
they were smart and funny,
but I also found them
physically attractive.
So, here I am, 8 years old,
realizing I'm poor and gay,
and now I knew how poor people were viewed
thanks to my classmates,
but now how gay people were looked at.
So, I started looking
and listening, and it turned out,
gay folks were disliked
as much as the poor,
not only that,
so were people of color
and immigrants,
and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
And then something happened that made me
into the person I am today.
My 3rd-grade self realized that
other people who were
different like I was
had also overheard similar conversations
and were just as hurt and confused
as I had been.
Immediately, my feelings turned
to anger and indignation,
and I made a vow
that I would always work hard
to even the playing field
and fight for people
who were being hurt and left behind
simply for who they were.
And that's what I've done.
I became the first person in my family
to graduate from college,
working my way through school
to supplement grants and loans.
I've continued working two
and sometimes three jobs to make ends meet
because I've dedicated myself
to public service with the Peace Corps
and nonprofits such as
EarthShare Washington
and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
I made sure I got my master's degrees
in Sustainable Development
and Consensus Building.
All of this I've done in order to gain
the skills and experience needed
so that I can get a bigger platform
and help more people.
That's what being on
Seattle City Council
means to me,
working hard for all of us.
And I hope to earn your vote
on August 6th
to make our city more affordable,
climate-conscious, and inclusive.