Candidates for Kaua‘i County Council answer questions in day one of two-part forum

With less than five weeks before Election Day on Nov. 5, Kaua‘i County Council candidates pitched themselves to constituents on Wednesday during the first of a two-night public forum held by community organizations.

The event at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall in Līhu‘e centered on issues for women, children and the local community.

Topics ranged from domestic violence and housing to gender inequities in the county’s workforce. There are no active women firefighters on Kaua‘i, and only 11 of 85 patrol officers at the Kaua‘i Police Department are women, with no female detectives or women in leadership positions above the rank of lieutenant.

“I think the real question is, is there interest?” Kaua‘i County Council chair Mel Rapozo said when asked to name steps to ensure fair opportunity and advancement for women in county departments. “I think police, fire, they traditionally have been male-dominated occupations, and I don’t think that prevents any female from applying and getting hired.”

Incumbent councilmembers Rapozo, Bernard Carvalho and Ross Kagawa, former councilmember Arryl Kaneshiro and relative newcomers Fern Ānuenue Holland and Butch Keahiolalo responded to other long-form and “rapid-fire” questions posed by forum moderator Lexi Jones of HI95 Kaua‘i.

A seventh scheduled candidate, Bart Thomas, was absent due to a medical emergency, Rapozo told forum attendees.

Candidates set to participate in the Oct. 3 forum are Abraham Apilado Jr. and incumbents Addison Bulosan, Felicia Cowden, Billy DeCosta and KipuKai Kuali‘i. The forums are hosted by several groups, including the Kaua‘i Planning & Action Alliance, YWCA Kaua‘i and the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i.

A total of 14 Kaua‘i County Council candidates, each vying for one of seven seats, are on the ballot in the nonpartisan election. The two candidates not scheduled to attend the two-night public forum are Jacquelyn Nelson, a member of the Kapaʻa Business Association and community volunteer, and Sherri Cummings, whose current occupation is not known at this time. Cummings does not appear to maintain a campaign website.

Carvalho, who spent decades as a Kaua‘i County employee before serving as mayor from 2008 to 2018, touted his experience: “I do have a wealth of understanding of government, so I want to continue and provide that to our community.”

In contrast, Keahiolalo, a former high school math teacher, soccer coach and firefighter, is making his first bid for elected office.

When asked about the roles and responsibilities of county, state and federal government, Keahiolalo agreed with his fellow candidates by labeling public safety and infrastructure as county priorities. But he questioned the efficacy of the status quo.

“You’re paying more taxes than any other state, any other state in the nation,” Keahiolalo said. “But we’re hearing that, okay, parks need this, roads need this, landfill needs that. How are all these other places doing it with less taxes than us?”

Kaneshiro spent eight years on the Kaua‘i County Council, including four as council chair before he was termed out of office. When also asked about the role of county government, he stressed his focus on “core responsibilities” like public safety and infrastructure.

“I’m not going to take on responsibilities that I know are too big for us to handle,” Kaneshiro said.

He said the county has devoted resources to critical issues like housing, but he claimed this should be a state government responsibility.

“Emergency management services … The state has been trying to get us to do it,” Kaneshiro continued. “Even if the state says, ‘We’ll pay the first few years, we’ll pay the next few years,’ eventually down the road, they’re going to say, that’s your responsibility. You guys pay for it.'”

The median price of a home on Kaua‘i was more than $1 million in July, according to Zillow.

The median home price in Hawai‘i has increased by 350% over the past 20 years, while an estimated 15,000 kānaka ʻōiwi (Native Hawaiians) leave the state each year. More Native Hawaiians now live on the United States mainland than in the Hawaiian Islands.

“We need a massive influx of homes … for working-class people who don’t qualify for affordable homes,” Kagawa said. “More market-priced lots, like in Hanamāʻulu made by D.R. Horton.”

Domestic violence is a leading cause of houselessness among women, yet the Kaua‘i County Housing Agency no longer prioritizes victims of domestic violence for its housing choice voucher program. Jones asked three candidates to describe how they would address housing instability for victims of domestic violence and their children.

“I think something that we can really do that will help to solve the problem, long term, is go after the drug crisis,” Holland said. “I think there’s a connection between drugs, poverty, houselessness and the cycle of poverty that leads to an increase in domestic violence.”

Holland, a community organizer affiliated with the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action and I Ola Wailuanui, a group opposed to the construction of a new hotel on the site of the former Coco Palms resort, narrowly lost election during her first bid for a seat on the Kaua‘i County Council in November 2022.

The first night of the Kaua‘i County Council Candidate Forum was broadcast live by community radio station KKCR and community television station Hōʻike Kauaʻi. Recordings will be made available online at kkcr.org and the Hōʻike Kauaʻi podcast feed and YouTube channel.

For information about the second candidate forum on Oct. 3, visit ywahinevote.org.