Councilman Chalamcherla brings passion for service to his new role in Folsom

Editor's note: The following story is part of the Folsom Telegraph's ongoing "Our Town" community profile series that spotlights our community's unique residents and public figures. "Inclusive, integrity, results," is the slogan for YK Chalamcherla, and those standards ring true for the newly elected City Council member. "It's been going very good, reading a lot of information and asking for guidance from my colleagues," said Chalamcherla about his time on the council so far. Regular sessions are set to resume next week. Chalamcherla shared he has been attending City Council meetings for years, sitting in to keep a pulse on what is happening in the city of Folsom, and setting his intention on holding a seat on the council someday. Fast forward to 2020 and an impressive campaign effort and a win for Chalamcherla. "When I was there those days, when I had the mindset to run for this office, I was putting myself in their shoes, how would I act on that topic," said Chalamcherla. During his time here, Chalamcherla has been involved with several community service-related activities in Folsom, including being active on the PTA/PTSO boards, Sober Grad Night, assisting with 5 and 10k runs and parks tree-planting programs. "I have been very active in the community since I have been here, and in 2016, I was appointed a parks and recreation commissioner. That drive was always there to serve the community. Throughout my life, I have been working in the public sector," said Chalamcherla, who worked in the Indian, Singapore and Californian government. Chalamcherla's impressive resume also includes being an engineer by trade. Chalamcherla is a family man, married for 24 years to his biggest supporter. They have two daughters, the oldest graduating from the prestigious Cal Poly University and the youngest a Vista Del Lago senior, debating on business and political science as career fields. "The upbringing we have given both our kids: responsible, standing on their own two feet, making reasonably good decisions, listening to their elders. That's how we brought them up," said Chalamcherla, noting parents are the "the best friends and the most honorable well-wishers of our lives." His namesake is of unique, powerful origin. The spelling of his first name is Yedu Kondalu. "My name Yedu means number seven. Kondalu means hills, so it's seven hills. In Southern India, there is a Hindu god, his temple is on top of seven hills and he is the world's second richest god (Vatican City is number one). It is a very powerful Hindu god, he gets donations and all the property he has. They run a university and I studied from that university," said Chalamcherla, who shared he has two brothers and one sister, all in India. Chalamcherla hails from a farmer's family in a small village in Southern India. Chalamcherla said he assisted his family in the fields, picking weeds from the rice, and took their buffalo and cows to eat the grasses. "Chickens and goats were around. My mom picked tomatoes, chilies and vegetables and cooked at night," said Chalamcherla. A green leaf dish, sour in flavor, mixed with green hot chilies "to minimize some of the sourness," was one of his favorite childhood fares. While growing up in a rural area, Chalamcherla understood the importance of family and education at an early age. "I realized the importance of higher education, worked hard to pursue my university education and graduated with a degree in computer science engineering. Later, I moved to the United States of America during Y2K to fix computer-related YR2000 issues; I am sure that most of you remember those days of uncertainty," Chalamcherla said. "My parents always believed in helping others and I learned those same values from them. It gives me great satisfaction when I help others. " Chalamcherla loves Folsom and helping his community. What would Chalamcherla like to see accomplished while he is on City Council and what does he foresee in the near future? "I think 2021 is going to be COVID-19 talk, whether we like it or not, believe it or not. Paying close attention to the ripple effects of COVID and how it will affect our community, especially the small business, is important," said Chalamcherla. As a City Council member, Chalamcherla has taken the initiative with hand sanitizers the city of Folsom has acquired from the state government and is distributing them to entities that need them. "The last few weeks that's what I have been doing, taking them around public places. For example, gas station pumps. If you touch that and then see the hand sanitizer, how relaxed you would be when you see that," said Chalamcherla.