LIHUE — Incumbent Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar had a fight on his hands this election season as he went head to head with Lisa Arin, a trial attorney who has put six years in working for the Kauai office. Late
LIHUE — Incumbent Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar had a fight on his hands this election season as he went head to head with Lisa Arin, a trial attorney who has put six years in working for the Kauai office.
Late Tuesday with 16 of 16 precincts reporting, Kollar had garnered 12,346 votes, 45.5 percent, while Arin had 11,286, votes, 41.5 percent.
As he celebrated his victory, Kollar took a moment to look back on the months that brought him to that winning moment.
“One big challenge is the toll it takes on the staff and being able to be a strong leader through this election process, so they can do their jobs,” Kollar said.
Arin said navigating the political process was one of the more difficult pieces of the race.
“I’m an attorney, not a politician, but it has been an awesome learning experience,” Arin said.
Both candidates and their teams spent months waving signs, knocking on doors and campaigning all over the island in a race to the position, and it was the community that was a bright spot in both of their campaigns.
“The best part has been the amazing community members that have supported our campaign and all the new people that we have met,” Arin said.
Now that he’s secured the office for another term, Kollar said he’ll be looking toward getting the new drug nuisance abatement unit up and running, which should happen within the next few months.
“Beyond that, we’re staying the course and working together with county and state leaders,” Kollar said, “making sure that everything is firing on all cylinders.”
