LIHUE — The debate between Kauai’s two mayoral candidates on Thursday was awesome, said Mike Martinez of Kapaa.
“It’s very good. What I like about it is they were actually debating and getting their points of view,” he said. “With the forums you can’t really get that from them. They at least had a chance to express their ideas and how they’re going to improve if they become mayor for everybody on Kauai.”
Martinez declined to say who his choice is for mayor, but did add the debate made his decision more difficult.
About 300 people gathered at Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall to hear Councilmember Derek Kawakami and Council Chair Mel Rapozo duke it out in their first debate of the election season.
“You bring out the best in me,” Kawakami said of Rapozo during his opening statement after thanking his supporters.
He continued: “We serve together on the Kauai County Council and I can tell you it’s been some pretty exciting times so to Mel, thank you as well.”
The two have been friends longer than they have been colleagues, Rapozo said.
“I made a fatal mistake many years ago in my office in the council. He (Kawakami) wasn’t even on the council and I said, ‘you know Derek, you should run for council,’” Rapozo said.
The hour-and-a-half debate, hosted by the Kauai Chamber of Commerce, touched on some of Kauai’s most difficult issues.
As for improving parks and beaches, Rapozo said he previously suggested to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. to put a plaque at each park that would let the community know who is in charge of the park’s maintenance.
What it really boils downs to, he said, is a matter of accountability.
“The end of the day, we need to find a director of parks that is qualified and will be held accountable to make sure these parks are being taken care of,” Rapozo said.
He said pride needs to be restored in the workforce and, once that’s done, there will be improvements.
Kawakami said there have been many community organizations that have reached out to help maintain Kauai’s parks in public/private partnerships.
“I think getting that community involvement, getting them to take that ownership, instills pride, and you’re less likely to have vandalism,” he said.
Those partnerships have proven to work, Kawakami said.
“We need to do this all together,” he said.
With one in eight homes on the island a vacation rental, Kawakami said he would get illegal vacation rentals off the market to promote the creation of workforce housing.
“A few ways we can do this is one, take a look at rapidly enforcing the current law we have on our books,” he said.
Owners of units who are charging $300 and $500 a night are ceasing and desisting, but owners of the higher-end units are not, so Kawakami said the county needs to look at increasing daily fines.
Rapozo said he’d hire two enforcement officers to help take care of the problem.
“One hundred thousand a year in salaries, $10,000 a day per violation, the fines will fund the office. We need to get rid of these illegal vacation rentals,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to convert those units into affordable houses, but what it’s going to do is it’s going to open up an inventory of homes that will have no other choice (but) to do long-term rentals.”
Kawakami, who comes from a family with a history in agriculture, said some of the incentives the county can give to agriculture have been done before, and the Kauai delegation at the state Legislature makes appropriations for good agriculture projects every year.
“Whether it was supporting the east Kauai water usage cooperative or appropriating over $3 million to our farmers in Moloaa or even giving a grant in aid to the Kilauea ag park for their hale imu and community kitchen, that’s what our farmers need,” he said.
As someone who lived and worked in a grocery store, Kawakami said he is well aware of the amount of food that is imported, and it’s not acceptable.
“We need to support farmers,” he said, referencing a bill he helped pass that would increase the amount of local products allowed to be sold in Sunshine Markets.
Rapozo said the agricultural park in Kilauea is a good example of what can be done to support the agriculture industry. He said there needs to be more partnerships within the community.
Neither candidate agreed with raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Kawakami said it would be devastating to the mom-and-pop shops, and Rapozo said it would cause all of the other wages to rise.
“I’m accountable to the people, my employees are accountable to me,” Rapozo said of his leadership style.
His cabinet will be made up of the best you can find on the island and may have to look outside as well.
“I want to succeed as mayor, not fail,” he said.
Kawakami said he is a bridge-builder.
“You need strong, positive, inspirational leadership to improve,” he said.
In his closing statement, Kawakami thanked Rapozo again, stating they both have a passion for Kauai, but different leadership styles.
“You are the very best candidate I could be running against,” he said.
He continued: “We need to come together. We need to lead by example.”
Rapozo told Kawakami he still regrets asking him to run for council, but at the end of the day, the people will decide what’s right for the island.
“I will fight for this island the best I can until the day I die. If I win, Kauai wins,” Rapozo said.
•••
Bethany Freudenthal, crime, courts and county reporter, can be reached at 652-7891 or bfreudenthal@thegardenisland.com.
