First ballot drop suggests battle ahead for Seattle's downtown district

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis received the most votes in District 7 in the first ballot drop on Tuesday — but his 41 percent was the weakest showing of the council’s three incumbents.

Lewis and retired Navy officer Bob Kettle are leading in initial results for the downtown district.

Public safety has been an overarching theme in their race. Lewis says his top priority is to pass Mayor Bruce Harrell’s new plan to restrict public drug use.

“Really looking forward to getting that over the finish line to make sure people are well cared for but also that people are held accountable in the City of Seattle,” he said.

Kettle, Lewis’ potential opponent in the general election, said he also supports that plan. But he said Lewis’ initial support for defunding police laid the groundwork for the city’s problems.

“The actions that they took led to the massive loss of police officers, the actions that they took created the permissive environment,” Kettle said.

Kettle noted a majority of initial district votes did not go to Lewis. Business owner Olga Sagan came in third, with 14 percent of the vote.