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Vijay Beniwal (Redmond City Council Position 6, Washington, candidate 2025)
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Vijay Beniwal ran for election to the Redmond City Council Position 6 in Washington. He was on the ballot in the primary on August 5, 2025.[source]
Beniwal completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Vijay Beniwal provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 8, 2025:
- Birth date: July 3, 1977
- High school: Army School
- Bachelor's: National Institute of Technology, Surathkal India, 1999
- Gender: Male
- Religion: Hindu
- Profession: Engineer
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Build Our Future Together
- Campaign website
- Campaign endorsements
- Campaign Facebook
- Campaign Instagram
Elections
General election
General election for Redmond City Council Position 6
Jeralee Anderson and Menka Soni are running in the general election for Redmond City Council Position 6 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Jeralee Anderson (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Menka Soni (Nonpartisan) | ||
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 = 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 Redmond City Council Position 6
Jeralee Anderson, Vijay Beniwal, and Menka Soni ran in the primary for Redmond City Council Position 6 on August 5, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Jeralee Anderson (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Vijay Beniwal (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Menka Soni (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
To view Beniwal's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Vijay Beniwal completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Beniwal's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My Journey At Microsoft I’ve spent 23 + years building customer‑ and enterprise‑grade products used around the world. Along the way I caught the start‑up bug, serving as Chief Product Officer for an AI company, and helped launch ventures that created 300 + local jobs. Practical innovation and fiscal discipline aren’t talking points for me—they’re my professional DNA.
Community Is My North Star Giving back is how I say thank‑you to the city that welcomed me. I’ve supported 20 + charities and schools, leading food drives, mentoring students, and serving on boards like Child And Relief, Hopes n Smile, and Care and Share. In 2025 I was humbled to receive a Community Leadership Award for years of palliative‑care advocacy.
Cricket lovers might know me as a PNW cricket trailblazer. I helped grow the regional community to 10,000 + players, served as a U.S. National Selector, and managed the 2022 Minor League Cricket champion Seattle Thunderbolts—all with an eye on youth development.
My grassroots work continues as an elected Precinct Committee Officer and LD‑48 Executive Board member, bridging residents, nonprofits, and policymakers every day.- Affordability & Opportunity for All I will fight for housing choices, family-wage jobs, and accessible healthcare so teachers, first responders, and working families can continue to call Redmond home.
- Safe, Connected, and Sustainable Neighborhoods By equipping first responders, investing in youth programs, and championing climate-smart infrastructure, we’ll keep every street safe today while protecting Redmond’s tomorrow.
- Proven Problem-Solver, Community-First Leader With 23 + years at Microsoft, start-up success, 300 + local jobs created, and deep nonprofit service, I bring the technical know-how, fiscal discipline, and servant leadership Redmond needs on its City Council.
Public Safety That Builds Trust — fully equip first responders while funding youth programs and mental-health co-response.
Transparent, Data-Driven Budgeting — make every tax dollar work harder through open dashboards and performance metrics.
Climate-Smart Growth — green buildings, clean-energy adoption, and safe bike-ped networks.
Why this book captures my political philosophy:
Community-first problem solving – Katz and Nowak show how cities succeed when solutions rise from neighborhoods, nonprofits, and small businesses working alongside government—exactly how I approach affordability, safety, and climate action.
Data-driven fiscal stewardship – The authors emphasize transparent, measurable outcomes and innovative financing tools rather than blanket tax hikes—mirroring the budget discipline I practiced at Microsoft and my start-ups.
Inclusive growth – The New Localism argues that economic expansion must lift all residents, not just the well-connected—perfectly aligned with my focus on housing choice, career pathways, and small-business opportunity.
Accountability – Owns decisions, welcomes oversight, and measures outcomes against clear goals.
Responsiveness – Listens actively to constituents, acts on feedback, and communicates updates promptly.
Fiscal Stewardship – Treats public dollars with the same rigor a prudent household or business would.
Equity & Inclusion – Ensures policies work for every resident, especially historically under-served communities.
Collaboration – Builds consensus across parties, agencies, and community groups to solve complex problems.
Data-Driven Decision-Making – Backs policies with evidence, tracks performance, and adjusts when results fall short.
Vision & Pragmatism – Balances long-term aspirations with practical steps that deliver near-term benefits.
Courage – Makes tough choices in the public interest, even when politically risky.
Twenty-three years at Microsoft—and now as Chief Product Officer at an AI start-up—have hard-wired me to study the data first, define clear success metrics, and iterate until we get real-world results.
Fiscal Steward
I’ve managed multi-million-dollar product budgets and launched start-ups that created 300 + local jobs. I know how to stretch every dollar, forecast risks, and deliver on time and under budget.
Community-First Listener
From mentoring in 20 + charities to serving as a Precinct Committee Officer, I meet residents where they are—doorsteps, parks, or online—and turn their stories into policy priorities.
Collaborative Bridge-Builder
Whether uniting nonprofits for a food drive or lining up public-private partners for youth cricket, I bring people with different interests to one table and keep them focused on shared goals.
Integrity & Transparency
Clear communication, open books, and prompt disclosure are non-negotiable. I’ll publish readable budget summaries and track project performance in public dashboards.
Inclusive Visionary
An immigrant who found opportunity here, I’m driven to ensure teachers, first responders, seniors, and small-business owners can all thrive in the Redmond of tomorrow.
Resilience & Grit
Craft, debate, and adopt local laws covering land-use, housing, public safety, sustainability, and economic development.
Budget Stewardship
Approve the city’s biennial budget, set tax and fee levels, and ensure every public dollar delivers measurable value.
Strategic Planning & Growth Management
Guide long-range plans (Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Master Plan) that balance economic growth with environmental stewardship and neighborhood character.
Oversight & Accountability
Monitor the performance of city departments, major capital projects, and contracted services; demand transparency and corrective action when goals aren’t met.
Constituent Services
Respond to resident concerns, hold town halls, and maintain open channels so diverse voices—renters, homeowners, businesses, youth, seniors—shape policy decisions.
Regional Representation
Serve on boards such as Sound Cities Association or regional transit and watershed committees, advocating for Redmond’s interests in county- and state-level forums.
Intergovernmental Collaboration
Partner with neighboring cities, school districts, King County, and tribal or state agencies on shared challenges like climate resilience, transportation, and public safety.
Land-Use & Zoning Decisions
Review rezones, development agreements, and conditional-use permits, ensuring growth aligns with the Comprehensive Plan and community priorities.
Emergency & Public-Health Preparedness
Adopt policies and budgets that keep first responders equipped, bolster disaster resilience, and coordinate with health agencies during crises.
Ethics & Public Trust
Councilmember Steve Fields – Redmond City Council
Councilmember Jared Nieuwenhuis – Bellevue City Council
Councilmember Jared Mead – Snohomish County Council
Commissioner Tasnim Rehmani – Kirkland Human Services Commission
Open, understandable budgets – Post the full biennial budget in a searchable online format and release a two-page “household summary” so anyone can see where money comes from and where it goes.
Real-time spending dashboards – Use the same data-visualization tools I relied on at Microsoft to track project burn rates, contract change orders, and capital-project milestones—updated monthly, not just at year-end.
Outcome-based funding – Tie departmental budgets to performance metrics (e.g., response times, housing units delivered, greenhouse-gas reductions). If targets aren’t met, explain why in plain language and reallocate accordingly.
Independent audits and citizen oversight – Support annual third-party audits plus a volunteer “Transparency & Accountability Board” made up of residents with finance, IT, and nonprofit backgrounds.
Clear conflict-of-interest rules – Disclose all personal financial interests, recuse when necessary, and ban “revolving-door” lobbying for at least two years after leaving office.
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 Beniwal completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
