In the Kauaʻi mayor’s race to replace term-limited Derek S.K. Kawakami, it appears to be current County Council Chair Mel Rapozo and current council member and former mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. advancing to the general election on Nov. 3.
In Saturday’s nonpartisan primary, Rapozo was the top vote getter of the six candidates as of the second printout with 7,580 votes, or 40.6%, followed by Carvalho with 5,720 votes, or 30.6%.
Councilmember Felica Cowden was the only other candidate to crack double digits with 3,176 votes, or 17.0%.
Laura Andaya-Lindsey, Michaela Widener and Megeso-William Denis all tallied less than 3% of the vote.
“I’m relieved,” said Rapozo, who gathered with his supporters at Anchor Cove, where they were feeling “stoked” as they waited for the votes to arrive.
“It was a hard campaign and we worked for many months,” he said. “This is the hardest campaign I’ve ever worked on. We did over 30 meet-and-greets across the island, touching over 1,000 voters, and you know, we cannot afford to do the TV ads and stuff, so you know we had to rely on the grassroots, and that’s what we did.”
Rapozo said he had the faith that “if we did that, we would be OK, and the first printout clearly shows that, so I’m excited.”
Carvalho and his supporters gathered at Kauaʻi War Memorial Convention Hall.
“We’re very thankful for the support that we’ve had in the past and in the present,” Carvalho said. “We look forward to serving again. I believe that we have a solid base and a solid chance to serve again.”
Kawakami, who has served back-to-back terms as Kauaʻi mayor, finished first in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of Hawaiʻi. He received 126,321 votes, 64.6%, well ahead of second-place finisher Della Au Belatti with 47,040 votes or 24.1%.
The other three Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor received less than 6% of the voter.
In the Republican primary, Anthony Daniel was the top vote getter, but with only 13,906 votes.
The next mayor of Kauaʻi will inherit responsibility for a county facing issues including housing affordability, infrastructure, traffic, development and preservation of Kauaʻi’s natural resources.
Candice Cummings was the last voter on the Garden Island, waiting until the last minute because “I’m always a procrastinator,” she said laughing.
“I really wasn’t going to come,” she explained. “But my sister-in-law said there’s still time — you can go.”
The Puhi resident added that she lent her support for Cowden for mayor.
“It’s been a while since we had a woman mayor, so I think maybe this is the year. I just felt like giving her a chance,” Cummings explained.
She added: “It’s my duty as an American citizen to vote. I have the privilege to do that, and so I came, and I voted.”
Two voters arrived at 7:09 p.m. — just past the 7 p.m. poll closure — and were disappointed to learn the ballot box was already locked.
The winner of the November election for mayor will serve a four-year term beginning in December.
Hawaiʻi Office of Elections reported that 15,427 people voted on Kauaʻi out of the 42,312 registered voters who were issued ballots. That’s less than 37%.
