Robert J. Drewel (born 1945–46) is an American retired politician from

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. Drewel served as the county executive of

Snohomish County, Washington Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 72nd-most populo ...

from 1992 to 2004 and as the executive director of the

Puget Sound Regional Council The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is a metropolitan planning organization that develops policies and makes decisions about transportation planning, economic development, and growth management throughout the four-county Seattle metropolitan ...

from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his career in politics, he was president of

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in ...

and a labor and personnel relations consultant.

Early life

Drewel was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, and was raised in Seattle and on his family's

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...

and grape farm in

Kennewick Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima ...

. He graduated from

Ingraham High School Ingraham High School is a public high school, serving grades 9–12 in the Haller Lake neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened in 1959, the school is named after Edward Sturgis Ingraham, the first superintendent of the Seatt ...

in Seattle and attended Columbia Basin Junior College,

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington, United States. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academi ...

and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. He graduated in 1970 from the University of Washington with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in history.

Career

Early career

Drewel worked as an assistant sales manager at the

Rhodes Brothers Rhodes Brothers was a department store located in Tacoma, Washington, originally established in 1892 as a coffee shop in downtown Tacoma by Albert, William, Henry and Charles Rhodes. In 1903, the brothers would shift into the department store bu ...

department store in Seattle and later for a labor-relations firm before moving to Everett. Drewel was hired by

in 1974 to work in their personnel department and twice served as interim president in 1981 and 1984. He was appointed permanently to the position in December 1984, and became interested in politics while involved in the college's lobbying efforts in the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, w ...

. During his tenure at the college, Drewel led efforts to rebuild the campus library after it was destroyed in a fire, as well as paying back $1 million in debt to the state after a miscalculation in enrollment numbers, and the establishment of early-retirement and retraining programs for staff.

Political career

Drewel was encouraged to run for the office of

Snohomish County Executive The Snohomish County Executive is the head of the executive branch of Snohomish County, Washington. The position has four-year terms (with a term limit of three consecutive terms) and is a partisan office. History County voters approved the ado ...

by local Democrats, including outgoing executive Willis Tucker, and announced his candidacy in April 1991. He received the early endorsement of the Snohomish County Labor Council over Republican candidate and state senator

Cliff Bailey In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are comm ...

, who he narrowly defeated in the September primary; both candidates advanced to the general election in November, defeating two other candidates from their respective parties. Drewel won 53 percent of votes in the general election, and pledged to "restore confidence in government". Drewel was re-elected to a second term in 1995, and a third term in 1999. He was

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

ed after his 1999 re-election, and was seen as a possible Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the

2004 election The following elections occurred in the year 2004. Africa * 2004 Algerian presidential election * 2004 Botswana general election * 2004 Cameroonian presidential election * 2004 Comorian legislative election * 2004 Equatorial Guinean legislativ ...

. Drewel was appointed the executive director of the

in December 2003, and served in that position until his retirement on January 2, 2014. He later served as interim chancellor for the Everett satellite campus of

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

in 2014.

Personal life

Drewel married his wife Cheryl in 1968 and raised two daughters with her at their home in

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

. Drewel was well known as a charity

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ...

, a role he began in the 1980s, raising money for

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

and other local charities. He also worked as a part-time

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

and opened the annual

Evergreen State Fair The Evergreen State Fair is a 12-day fair which is held each year from late August through Labor Day. It is the largest county fair in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and the largest single attraction held annually in Snohomish ...

rodeo in cowboy boots and jeans. Shortly after his election to a third term in 1999, Drewel was successfully treated for

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drewel, Bob 1940s births Date of birth missing (living people) County executives in Washington (state) Washington (state) Democrats People from Arlington, Washington University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Politicians from Seattle People from Kennewick, Washington Living people