Sid Gupta prioritizes development and sustainability for his second term
Councilmember Sid Gupta moved from Oklahoma to Sammamish 15 years ago. After over a decade in his new hometown, he had no intention of running for office, but his friends felt he would make an excellent candidate.
So in 2023, after some goading from those friends, Gupta ran and won a seat on the Sammamish City Council, where he enjoys having an impact on his community every day.
Now, Gupta is looking to retain his seat in the Nov. 4 general election. He wants to prioritize development and environmental sustainability.
Gupta’s history of service reflects his self-proclaimed avid environmentalism.
Before running for office, Gupta served on Sammamish’s Parks and Recreation Commission for eight years. He spent two of those years as the chair and another two as vice chair.
He has served as a steward for the Washington Native Plants Society since 2015, including serving on the board of the organization’s Central Puget Sound Chapter in July 2017.
Gupta also contributes time to the board for the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH). This group educates people of all ages about Pacific salmon and their sustainability.
Because of this work, Gupta was awarded the Sammamish Environmental Stewardship Award in 2016 and Volunteer of the Year Award in 2018.
“I feel very fortunate to live here. My experience has been really positive. I think that’s why I’ve chosen to spend so much time volunteering and working in the community,” said Gupta in an interview with the Sammamish Independent.
In his first term as a councilmember, Gupta was a vocal advocate for the city’s Climate Action Plan and Transportation Master Plan. He also played a key role in the adoption of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging committee’s Racial Equity Commitment and Vision, which serves as a vision statement to guide how the City addresses racial inequity.
In Jan. 2025, Gupta proposed an initiative that would require the City to provide a vegan-first menu any time it serves food at public-facing meetings. Gupta’s draft proposal compared the low carbon footprint of plant-based foods to the high greenhouse gas emissions of meat production. He believed that the policy would promote sustainability and equity. The initiative passed in April.
One of Gupta’s current priorities as a city council member is the Bike and Pedestrian Mobility plan. For him, transportation initiatives are particularly significant because he does not own a car, opting to travel on foot or by bike instead. Given his alternative commute lifestyle, Gupta is keenly invested in developing better options for bikers and pedestrians.
Gupta is also working on the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan, which passed in 2018. He is focused on setting the City’s canopy cover goal, the percentage of land area in the city covered by trees, to help ensure Sammamish preserves its urban forest canopy.
“I think that [a canopy cover goal] is incredibly important, especially if we start dealing with increased development pressure and climate resilience,” said Gupta.
Despite being an avid environmentalist, Gupta supports the development of the Sammamish Town Center as a way to prioritize housing diversification.
In 2023, 85% of houses in Sammamish were large, single-family units, according to the City of Sammamish Housing Diversification Toolkit. Gupta believes that the Town Center will create housing variety, with townhomes, condos, and apartments, as well as the addition of affordable housing.
“There are multiple benefits to [housing diversification]. One, there’s a feeling of closeness in the community. Two, that’s reducing the number of miles that people are having to travel, which is better for our climate action goals. And three, in the case of our public safety, we want firefighters and police to be living in our city so that they can help respond to those events,” Gupta said.
In response to concerns over increased traffic, overcrowded schools, environmental impact, and other concerns around the Town Center development, Gupta wants to assure residents that the City is carefully assessing all possible impacts.
“We are going through a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Town Center, which is looking at all those impacts. That’ll help the council make decisions on how many car trips are generated by each type of housing and the stormwater impact,” Gupta said, describing some examples of the questions the Council is hoping to answer with the SEIS studies.
On fiscal policy, Gupta said he supports the 6% utility tax that takes effect in Jan. 2026. He believes it was the best available option to maintain City services.
“I really want people to understand that reducing all of the services would have an impact on the quality of life in Sammamish,” said Gupta.
Overall, Gupta hopes to build on the progress of his first term while maintaining his strong commitment to environmental sustainability and projects like the Bike and Pedestrian Mobility Plan in his second.
“I feel like we’ve done a lot of good work. But we’ve got exciting work on the horizon this year. So if I were to be re-elected, I’m looking forward to really prioritizing projects, getting things built, and helping the community realize the vision of these plans,” Gupta said.
Sid Gupta is running for Sammamish City Council Position No. 3.
