There was something sad, nearly woeful, about the old pickup truck slowly, silently making its way through the Komohana subdivision in Puhi Sunday. Then, out of the driver’s seat jumps an elderly man, pulling down another campaign sign. To the
There was something sad, nearly woeful, about the old pickup truck slowly, silently making its way through the Komohana subdivision in Puhi Sunday.
Then, out of the driver’s seat jumps an elderly man, pulling down another campaign sign. To the untrained eye, it’s just another campaign volunteer removing yard signs of another unsuccessful candidate.
But the driver is Charles “Bull” Kusaka, and the plainly dressed passenger riding shotgun is his wife and Kaua‘i’s former Mayor, Maryanne Kusaka. On the campaign trail, she was a picture of elegance, always dressed in finery the way she did when she served as mayor for eight years.
On this trip, which saw the couple go from Kaumakani and back to their Wailua Houselots home, and on a run to Kapa‘a yesterday to retrieve campaign signs, she was simply citizen Kusaka, casually dressed and taking the time to chat with supporters she said have been worried about her after she lost in her bid to unseat Democratic state Sen. Gary Hooser last week.
She told supporters, and The Garden Island, that this year’s election bid was her last.
“Right now, it’s pau,” she said. “I’m done with it. I think my time has passed.
“Everybody’s worried about me,” about how she is handling her first and only defeat in elected politics. “But I’m really fine,” and although some of her supporters are still licking their wounds, she is moving on.
“For many reasons, I would really like to do something productive in the community,” rather than run for office. She will actively campaign for candidates she supports, though, she added. “We have good people in the community that I believe in,” and if called to do so she will support them in two years, and beyond.
“I think I have made a contribution. I accept that, and life goes on. I appreciate all the love and concern I have received from some people,” Kusaka added.
The journey to collect yard signs served, Maryanne Kusaka said, as time well spent alone, just the two of them, on the road. She said she is blessed with a fine husband, and appreciated the time spent with him the last two days.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
