After Bob Sternoff resigned from his Position 2 seat on the Kirkland City Council in March, the council was forced to make a quick decision to appoint a new council member by April 16.

Robert L. Style is one of 17 candidates vying for the seat.

Background: Style, age 74, has lived in Kirkland for 26 years. He has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California in Public Administration and Urban Planning.

Style also ran against Mayor Joan McBride for the Position No. 1 seat in 2001 but he only garnered 23 percent of the vote.

Experience: He served as an assistant planner when the town of Paradise, Calif. was first created. When he moved to Kirkland, he was selected to work for the City of Carnation as a city planner and created and managed department budgets that he received an award for.

Style also served as Carnation’s public works director, utility supervisor of the city’s water district, traffic engineer and a solid waste manger working with the Department of Ecology closing the city’s landfill site. He negotiated a contract with Solid Waste Management for services for Carnation. He also represented the city during the creation and passage of the Growth Management Act.

A self-proclaimed “citizen moderator,” Style has regularly attended Kirkland Council meetings for more than 20 years.

Reasons for running: He is running for the seat to “protect and improve” the quality of life for Kirkland citizens.

Top issues facing the city: As a council member, Style’s top priorities would all focus on improving residents’ quality of life.

This would include “adopting legislation that does not degrade our quality of life,” selecting elements of the Growth Management Act that will enhance the quality of life in the city’s neighborhoods and managing the city on the budget so it allows citizens more of an opportunity to improve their quality of life for them and their families, he said.