Seattle City Council split on who should represent downtown

Three Seattle City Council members want to see one of their colleagues, Councilmember Andrew Lewis, who represents the downtown area, defeated this November.

Seattle’s downtown, as the city’s economic engine and the epicenter of the visible impacts from the fentanyl and homelessness crises, is at the heart of city politics this election year, as seven of the nine council seats are up for grabs. That focus puts added pressure on the race for District 7, which also includes Queen Anne and South Lake Union.

There, Lewis — a progressive former assistant city attorney — is fighting for a second term against Bob Kettle — a retired Navy commander and moderate Democrat — after the pair soared past four other candidates in the August primary, earning 43.5% and 31.5% of the votes, respectively.

In the past few weeks, Council President Debora Juarez and Councilmembers Sara Nelson and Alex Pedersen endorsed Kettle.

Juarez, Nelson and Pedersen represent the most centrist faction of the council — focused on business growth and a police-driven view of public safety — making it no surprise they align with Kettle, who has taken similar policy stands.

But it is abnormal for Lewis’ council colleagues to endorse his opponent. While fellow first-term Councilmembers Dan Strauss (District 6) and Tammy Morales (District 2) are seeking reelection against more centrist opponents as well, no other council members have officially endorsed their challengers.

Nelson, who was the first to publicly endorse Kettle, said she not only supports him, but urged him to run because of the importance of downtown.

“The future of Seattle depends on the strength of downtown. I didn’t early endorse Bob Kettle because I prefer him; I encouraged him to run because downtown needs a strong, reliable leader. It’s that important,” Nelson said in an email Wednesday morning, calling Kettle “unequivocally committed to public safety and fostering a vibrant economic climate.”

“I’m convinced he’s got the political will to take stock of policies contributing to downtown’s persistent challenges and correct course, not double-down on them,” Nelson added.

Lewis is fighting hard to keep his seat.

He’s the only incumbent outraising his opponent, having brought in over $125,000 from nearly 1,200 donors compared to Kettle’s $102,000 from under 900 contributors, as of Tuesday.

He also has a long list of endorsers, including a slew of elected officials like King County Executive Dow Constantine, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and fellow progressive Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Teresa Mosqueda.

The most important seals of approval, Lewis says, come from community and downtown groups that support him. For example, Lewis received a “strongly aligned” rating from the Downtown Seattle Association this summer, even after a controversial vote against a bill that would have allowed the city attorney to prosecute drug possession and public use cases as gross misdemeanors under a new state law.

The same vote, which has become a sort of referendum on public safety during the election, is why some of Lewis’ colleagues are working against him, according to Kettle.

“It’s so important and it speaks volumes to have [his] current colleagues on City Council endorsing me. It speaks to the need for change,” Kettle, who has largely campaigned on the idea that Lewis is not the right representative for downtown.

Kettle called Lewis unreliable for unexpectedly opposing the drug bill in June, when it failed by one vote, and for supporting a bill that capped residential rental late fees at $10 per month. On both occasions, Kettle says Lewis made “handshake agreements” with colleagues but changed his mind on the final vote.

“The flip-flopping is basically a betrayal, in a way, of his word to his fellow council members,” Kettle said, though he would not indicate which if any council members told him about the alleged agreements with Lewis.

Lewis brushed off Kettle’s “flip-flop” comment Wednesday morning. He said his drug possession vote was a strategy, noting it resulted in his involvement on a task force that drafted a new iteration of the bill which he is co-sponsoring. That drug possession bill is expected to pass this month.

“Sometimes to get something done on this council, you need to throw an elbow to get good policy. And that’s what we’re going to do,” Lewis said.

The late fee vote was a result of new information, Lewis said, chalking up his ability to reassess as a strength.

“If my opponent is going to be inflexible and never change his mind on anything, is that really the best representative for a deliberative body?” Lewis asked.

After endorsing Kettle in August, Pedersen said it was not personal, but he wanted the council to have a “reliable majority” of members prioritizing “the basics,” meaning public safety and fiscal responsibility.

“Personally I’m fond of Andrew and believe his political career can flourish,” Pedersen said, “and yet this November our struggling city is overdue for a pragmatic majority on the council that reliably prioritizes public safety with action and key votes — and that requires Bob Kettle.”

Juarez, who is not seeking reelection, declined to comment on her endorsement, but in the news release said she was “endorsing Bob because this ‘Girl Dad’ will fight for the most marginalized people in our community. He’ll include our young people, listen to the concerns of his constituents, and help us deliver ground-level results.”

Lewis said election-year politics won’t stop his ability to work with his colleagues on issues like the drug possession bill.