LIHUE — The voters left no doubt. Derek Kawakami will be Kauai’s next mayor.
LIHUE — The voters left no doubt. Derek Kawakami will be Kauai’s next mayor.
The councilman easily defeated Council Chair Mel Rapozo in Tuesday night’s general election.
“To my campaign team, I tell you, my heart is overflowing with emotion,” Kawakami said. “I am so inspired by you. You came together to formulate a strategy that stayed true to our path. That path was honesty, integrity and collaboration. Together, you have been formidable and you have waged a campaign that is the best I have ever seen. You have blanketed this island with hope, and vision of honoring our past and building our future.”
With 16 precincts reporting in, Kawakami finished with 15,756 votes, 65.1 percent, to Rapozo’s 7,484 votes, 30.9 percent.
Kawakami wins a four-year seat.
More than 500 people jammed the Kauai Veterans Center, many of them donning red T-shirts bearing the Derek Kawakami name.
The sea of red anxiously gnawed at the spread of food and listened to the music while keeping an eye on the big screen television.
