Seattle City Council: It’s Bob Kettle in District 7, Joy Hollingsworth in District 3

The Seattle City Council is beginning to take shape.

Incumbent Andrew Lewis announced Friday afternoon he called his opponent Bob Kettle– congratulating him on the hard-fought race in District 7.

Kettle will join fellow newcomer Joy Hollingsworth on the council. Hollingsworth’s opponent in District 3 Alex Hudson conceded Friday morning.

None of the other races have been officially called. And as council’s other two incumbents– Dan Strauss has gained a narrow lead over restaurateur Pete Hanning– but it is incredibly close.

And Tammy Morales has gained ground over Tanya Woo but still trails by a little more than 600 votes.

Election race list: The updated 2023 voting results in Washington

Lewis was looking to maintain his seat, which represents Seattle’s downtown among other neighborhoods, despite a significant push to remove him from the city council after being the deciding vote to not pass a drug possession ordinance.

“We’re feeling great right now with the initial results. Very strong results and so we’re very happy with them,” Kettle told KIRO Newsradio in a phone interview after initial results were released. “My top three: Public safety, public health and wellness. The bottom line is this is about creating a safe base. We need to have this reset of the council so we can have a reset of its relationship with SPD.

“Then we can move forward on the issues that we’re facing and really build up the staffing because that’s so important in terms of addressing the permissive environment that has been behind the random acts of violence and lawlessness,” Kettle continued.

Olga Sagan, owner of Piroshky Piroshky, also ran to represent District 2, but was eliminated in the primaries held in August after receiving 14% of the votes.

Lewis was in the incumbent for the position, representing District 7 on the Seattle City Council since 2020 after defeating Jim Pugel by 2,000 votes.

“As the parent of a six-month-old, I’m more determined than ever to build a Seattle we can be proud to pass on to the next generation,” Lewis said in his candidate statement. “In my first term, I brought together unlikely coalitions to deliver results, and I’ll continue that work if re-elected.”

He was endorsed by Pramila Jayapal, 36th legislative district democrats, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, County Executive Dow Constantine and The Stranger.

More on Andrew Lewis: Seattle Councilmember Lewis claims solving fentanyl crisis needs to be re-imagined

He also listed Downtown Seattle Association CEO Jon Scholes as an endorsement, but Scholes confirmed to The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH that he hadn’t endorsed Lewis. Many Downtown Seattle businesses and representatives backed away from Lewis after his surprise rejection of the city’s new drug possession law — which was passed a few months later after Mayor Bruce Harrell pushed for the passing of the bill.

Lewis has amassed $201,521 in campaign contributions but still came up short compared to Bob Kettle’s $235,119 raised for his campaign.

Kettle is a former Naval Intelligence officer and is a stay-at-home dad.

“I’m running for Seattle City Council because I’m concerned about the Council’s inaction and failure on the most important issues facing our community,” Kettle said in his candidate statement. “I’ll help lead our city to meet the challenges we face on public safety, public health, and homelessness. Seattle can feel like a thriving, vibrant community again.”

More on Bob Kettle: 7th District candidate says safety is at the top of his agenda

He was endorsed by The Seattle Times.

Head here to see the updated 2023 voting results in Washington.

Contributing: Bill Kaczaraba/MyNorthwest