Sarah Moore (Burien City Council Position 5, Washington, candidate 2025)

Sarah Moore

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Burien City Council Position 5

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 5, 2025

Education

High school

Thompson Valley High School

Personal

Religion

Humanist Atheist

Profession

Program coordinator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Sarah Moore is running for election to the Burien City Council Position 5 in Washington. Moore is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source] Moore was on the ballot in the primary on August 5, 2025.^[source]

Moore completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Sarah Moore provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 16, 2025:

• High school: Thompson Valley High School
• Bachelor's: Bates College, Lewiston ME
• Gender: Neither/Both
• Religion: Humanist Atheist
• Profession: Program Coordinator
• Prior offices held:
  • Deputy Mayor (2024-Prsnt)
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

General election for Burien City Council Position 5

Gabriel Fernandez and Sarah Moore are running in the general election for Burien City Council Position 5 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Gabriel Fernandez (Nonpartisan)
		Sarah Moore (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Burien City Council Position 5

Gabriel Fernandez, Sarah Moore, and Jamie Jo Skeen ran in the primary for Burien City Council Position 5 on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate
		Gabriel Fernandez (Nonpartisan)
		Sarah Moore (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Jamie Jo Skeen (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Moore received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• MLK Labor
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 751
• Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates
• Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates of Washington
• Seattle Transit Riders Union

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sarah Moore completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Moore's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

A Committed Leader for Burien

Sarah Moore is a dedicated leader, community advocate, and proud parent who believes in building a strong and sustainable Burien for everyone. With a background in science and public service, she has spent years working to improve public health, protect the environment, and make local government more open and accountable. Her commitment to the community led her to serve on several local boards before being elected to the Burien City Council in 2022. In 2025, her fellow council members chose her as Deputy Mayor, recognizing her leadership and teamwork.

As a parent, Sarah takes great pride in loving and supporting her children. When she’s not working on policies to support affordable housing, a clean environment, and public safety, she enjoys raising goats and chickens. Her love for animals reflects her deep respect for nature and sustainable living. She is committed to making Burien a place where all families—of every kind—can thrive.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• A city that works for everyone. Everyone deserves a fair shot at living, working, and thriving in Burien. Sarah is fighting for affordable housing, renter protections, and policies that support living wages—ensuring that people who work in Burien can afford to stay and build a future here.
• Walkable Neighborhoods with Essential Services Burien’s neighborhoods should be places where people can easily access food, healthcare, and daily necessities without long commutes. Sarah advocates for smart development that brings essential services closer to residents while investing in safe and connected walking and biking routes.
• Good leadership means listening. Sarah is committed to open, two-way communication between the community and decision-makers, making government more accessible, responsive, and accountable to the people it serves. Additionally, Sarah believes in fostering a city that uplifts its diverse communities, supports cultural events and organizations, and ensures every resident feels valued and heard.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Planned growth that respects environmental justice and the health of communities.

Connecting people with the services or the branches of government they need.

Waste water treatment - I didn't expect Sewer Queen to be one of my proudest titles but the work I have done to help people advocate for septic to sewer conversion is important to me!

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Cities are the front line, where people lead their daily lives and where laws passed at higher level show their impact. Cities have some power to mitigate harsh laws passed at higher levels, or to amplify beneficial ones. As I have learned in my first term, cities also face unfunded mandates, and it requires enormous creativity and persistence to secure resources to adequately serve those mandates - which often call for wonderful things which the city simply does not have ready funds to provide.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Curiosity, empathy, humility. No elected leader can be prepared for everything that might happen during their term of service. Curiosity and humility keep our eyes and minds open to learn and adapt to the new, the unexpected - whether it is to recognize and benefit from opportunity or to find creative responses to challenges. Empathy helps keep hearts open, and all actions centered on the needs of the community.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am creative and I foster creativity of others. I am able to take an opposing position with respect, courtesy and clarity. I am able to regroup and work with people after disagreeing with them about issues dear to both of us. I listen. I ask questions to learn, not to show off.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

1 - to ask questions and articulate needs - to be a voice for the community in places where a voice is needed.

2 - to seek solutions and try to work with fellow council members to build a collective understanding of difficult issues, so that even if in disagreement, everyone is working from the same knowledge base

3 - to stay true to my values and convictions. I believe that there are limits beyond which it is necessary to take a stand, whether or not it is popular. Seeing a leader do this can encourage others to do the same.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like more people to have the things they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives because of what I do. Whether that is getting into shelter or housing, whether it is living near work or near the kids' school or near a park. Whether it's food security or better transportation to get health care.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember Richard Nixon resigning. I was fairly young and did not fully grasp the importance of this. I also remember my grandmother shouting with excitement about Shirley Chisholm running for president.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at the MSPCA - an animal shelter in Massachusetts. I was there for two years and loved it. But it was in a very small town and I ended up moving. I am grateful to this day for my first boss, who taught me valuable skills and was patient with my sometimes clueless self.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

For a long time I had a fan fiction in my head where I was Jane Eyre's mentor and convinced her to meet some other people before she went and married the first guy she met as an adult.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

It has something to do with sharks. My nephew was singing it in our family zoom call and now it's back thanks for asking!

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have a lot of privilege and I don't want to dwell on struggles I have had, but I have had long periods of depression which I didn't even know had a name. I thought depression meant feeling sad. What I was feeling was - nothing - just a lack of any emotion or reaction,. I am so grateful for finally seeking treatment and for having support while I grieved for all the time I spent not experiencing the emotional textures of life. It was surprising to me that being treated for depression actually came with its own sense of grief and loss.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Apparently city council members are often asked to become officiants for weddings. So far this has not come up for me.

Most people assume that individual council members have a lot of special powers, but most of our power is as a governing body. Without the other six people on Burien City Council, I have no special decision making powers. It is when we vote as a council body that our power is activated.

I do 'get' to be on committees that study regional topics of interest, so I get to advocate for the city in county and regional settings.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

I think the ideal city council would be composed of people with a wide range of skills and life experiences. The more diversity of every kind, the more representative we are of the community, and the more likely that one of us will have insights from perspectives that are unique to that person.
With that said, I value colleagues with backgrounds in finance, law, nonprofit management, small business owners, political advocacy, union organizing, activism, health care, science, transportation, customer service, and people who have made parenting their focus.

Tell us your favorite joke.

I am a huge teller of bad dad jokes. I don't know if I'd call it a favorite, but I have to drive on a drawbridge sometimes, and every time I do, I see the sign that says "draw bridge" and think "I can't draw a bridge, I'm driving"

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

King County Democratic Party and 33rd and 34th legislative district Dems. Working Families Party, MLK labor, Transit Rider's Union. UFCW3000, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund. Teresa Mosqueda, all the state representatives and senators for the 33rd and 34 legislative districts, Burien Councilmember Hugo Garcia

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I believe that it is essential and difficult. Budgets are not straightforward, and much that appears opaque is more accurately, the shortest way to say something when everyone is used to the topic. This leads to distrust and cynicism.

Before every council meeting, I write a set of notes for myself, to help "explain the agenda to myself." When I asked others to review my notes, they asked me to share them widely, and I began preparing a pre-meeting newsletter that many people say helps them better follow the gist of the meeting.

Communicating with clarity and openness takes time, effort, and a bridge between understanding the issues at hand, and knowing what kinds of questions a person new to the subject would have. We need more of this type of communication between government and citizens.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Other survey responses

Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Moore completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.

• VoteWA Profile

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