Bob Kettle, a longtime Queen Anne resident, stands at the Betty Bowen viewpoint at Marshall Park.
Photo by Jessica Keller.
Queen Anne resident Robert Kettle isn’t new to civic duty and public service. He is a retired Naval officer, where he served 22 years before moving to Seattle, and a former member of the Queen Anne Community Council.
Kettle is one of four people registered with King County Elections as challengers for incumbent City Councilman Andrew Lewis’s District 7 seat, a crowded race that will be whittled down to two in the Aug. 1 primary.
The other challengers, according to King County Elections, are Seattle Police Department officer Aaron Marshall, owner of Piroshki Piroshki Olga Sagan, software engineer Wade Sowders and licensed private investigator Isabelle Kerner.
Kettle has been involved in the community for some time as a member of the Queen Anne Community Council board, West Precinct Advisory Council, Queen Anne Block Watch Network, World Affairs Council Seattle, Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063, the Society of White House Military Aides, Veterans for Patty Murray and the 36th Legislative District Democrats.
He says he is not a politician and is new to the political process, so his campaign for the District 7 council seat has been an education.
“It’s been quite the opportunity to learn about our democratic process with a grassroots approach,” he said.
Kettle, who describes himself as a pragmatic progressive, said one of the reasons he is running for political office is a desire to help create new leadership on the council, which he believes is currently lacking and myopic in its policy and decisions.
“Yes, we need to lead with compassion but also wisdom,” he said, adding many of the decision the council members have made in the last three years have created unintended consequences and negative impacts in many areas of the city, such as public safety and the business community and more.
Kettle said the City Council needs to think bigger in its solutions and tries to consider impacts to every sector and resident before making a decision, such as with public safety and mental health.
“We cannot succeed at public safety if we don’t also succeed at mental health,” he said.
As well, Kettle said the City Council needs to take a more unified approach to governing and work better together and pursue more partnerships with other governmental agencies.
“We need a City Council that works well together and works well together with others in the region and county and state,” he said.
Within the city, however, Kettle said the new City Council needs to do more to improve relationships with different stakeholders, such as business communities. He said the city is in danger of losing a large number of small businesses, which help sustain the city’s commerce, as well as the neighborhoods in which they reside. He said city leaders need to acknowledge how they have been affected in the past few years, adding that if they do not recognize that crime negatively impacts small business owners’ will and determination to stay in business, as well as their financial bottom line, they are putting every small business at risk in the city and jeopardizing people’s’ livelihoods and the neighborhoods they are seeking to represent.
“The first responsibility of government is to create a safe, vibrant community,” he said.
As far as the growth of the city, Kettle said he supports densification of neighborhoods, as long as decisions allow for communities to protect industry, their identities and promotes healthy environmental practices.
If elected, Kettle said he will work with his counterparts to make informed decisions that support infrastructure, improve public safety, businesses and partnerships in and outside the city. And even though the redistricting process changed District 7 boundaries and shifted a portion of Magnolia to District 6, he will not only focus on the segment in his district.
“I may only represent part of Magnolia, but I will advocate for all of Magnolia,” he said.
For more information or to contact Kettle directly, email info@kettleforseattle.com, call 206.972.4777, or visit online at KettleForSeattle.com.
For more information on Kerner, email isabelle@isabellekerner.com, or go to www.kernerforcouncil.com.
For more information on Lewis, email lewisforseattle@gmail.com, or visit www.lewisforseattle.com.
For more information on Marshall, email AaronMarshallfordistrict7@outlook.com, or go to
marshallforseattle.com.
For more information on Sagan, contact info@olgaforseattle.com, or visit olgaforseattle.com.
For more information on Sowders, email wade@wadeforseattle.com, or visit wadeforseattle.com.