Meet Olympia City Council candidate Robbi Kesler
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of interviews with candidates running for Olympia City Council. At the end of each interview, The Olympian asked every candidate two questions: what they pay in rent or mortgage, and if they could correctly guess the median home sale price in Olympia, which is $430,000.
Robbi Kesler is the former general counsel for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis, and has worked as nonpartisan counsel for the state House of Representatives. She is an enrolled member of the Skokomish Tribe in Mason County.
In an interview with The Olympian, Kesler touted her legal experience and unique perspective as a Native American woman as strengths she would bring to the council.
Kesler cited her involvement with lobbying the federal government to overturn a two-centuries-old law that prohibited liquor production on Indian reservations. The repeal of that law, which passed in 2018, three years after she left her position with the Chehalis for a job in state government, led to the opening of Talking Cedar Brew Pub and Distillery, the first native-owned distillery to open on tribal land in the nation, according to the Northwest News Network.
Kesler was one of eight finalists for Jessica Bateman’s open seat, to which Yến Huỳnh was appointed. In her application for that seat, Kesler wrote that her top three priorities were accountability for elected officials, affordable housing, and addressing the public health impacts of homelessness, including a “plan to remove trespassers from private property.”
“I think there are some gaps in the system that are allowing the city to kind of continue to put Band-aids on the situation and get into these stickier situations where it’s a property owner shouldering some of that burden,” Kesler said.
She thinks the city should focus on rapid rehousing and temporary shelters to get people off the streets quickly, citing a federal judge’s ruling in Los Angeles last month that requires the city to find shelter for more than 4,600 unhoused people on Skid Row within six months. (The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily paused the order last week.)
“I think that needs to be a focus at this point, because it’s the right thing to do, but also because you’re going to see governments end up boxed into ‘this is what you must do’ and timelines that are set by courts and people outside of the community,” she told The Olympian.
Kesler criticized local officials for failing to find a long-term solution for RV dwellers, referencing a planned RV safe lot that was shelved at the end of 2020.
Another priority Kesler listed on her previous application was increasing funding for law enforcement. Asked to elaborate, she said that those funds would not necessarily go towards more police, but to other public safety initiatives, such as “additional efforts related to mental health or answering domestic violence calls.”
“It doesn’t have to be in the line item of the police department — maybe yes, maybe no — but some of these additional efforts in training and also creating programs that answer calls would require additional funding,” Kesler said.
Kesler supports the city’s reimagining public safety process, which she called “long overdue,” but didn’t offer specific ideas for police reform aside from what’s already being done.
Other priorities for Kesler include reducing impact fees for certain businesses such as childcare to encourage more businesses to open, as well as reducing barriers for property owners who want to build Accessory Dwelling Units or other infill housing.
How much do you pay in rent/mortgage?
Kesler owns her condominium outright, but pays $440 per month in homeowners association fees.
What’s the median home price in Olympia?
“$478,000, in the high $400,000s.”
This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 12:47 PM.
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