[2][3] After high school, Saka joined the United States Air Force and served for ten years as an intelligence officer.

[1][3][5] In February 2023, Saka announced that he would stand for the city council, replacing Lisa Herbold who declined to run for re-election.

[2] Saka's platform focused on public safety and police reform, rejecting many of the policies championed by the city council at the time.

Costa was fired from Amazon in 2020 after publicly urging the company to do more to combat climate change and improve conditions for warehouse workers.

[8] After the primary, the six other candidates endorsed Costa over Saka despite wide policy differences, saying "She has experience fighting for justice and a better world".

"[15] As a member of the Council's Public Safety Committee, he voted for a bill that would repeal the city's ban on police use of blast balls for crowd control.