LIHU‘E — Saturday marked a historic first mail-in only election, bringing in over 20,697 mailed in votes and 404 in-person on Kaua‘i.
This Primary Election whittled a field of 21 candidates for Kaua‘i County Council down to 14.
Preliminary results as of 9:30 p.m. Saturday night showed a strong incumbent majority with Mason Chock holding 11,459 votes, Luke Evslin with 11,319 votes and Arryl Kaneshiro with 10,926 votes leading the pack.
Rounding out the top seven were Bernard Carvalho Jr. with 10,493 votes, Kipukai Kuali‘i with 8,985 votes, Felicia Cowden with 8,096 votes and Billy DeCosta with 6,861 votes.
Chock, who has served on the council since 2013, said he was humbled to see himself at the top of the first print-out, especially with such a high voter turnout.
“We’re in tough times, but I think people are tuned in,” he said. Should he remain on the council, Chock said the most pressing concerns the council will need to address including finding a balance among the coronavirus pandemic and economy. “Amongst crisis, there’s always opportunity,” he said.
Cowden, who sat in sixth position, echoed the importance of continuity in the council.
“I’m humbled, honored and enthusiastic to hopefully continue serving for Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau,” Cowden said Saturday night. “I’m committed to serving full time and helping the people recover from this time we are in.”
Former mayor Carvalho sat with family in the garage as he saw the first print out of the night placing him with over 7% of the vote.
Carvalho, who has 36 years of Kaua‘i government experience, has never served in a council seat before. He hopes he has another shot at being able to share his experiences with the administration.
“I know the back and forth (between the council and the administration),” Carvalho said. “I want to make a difference with a team of fellow councilmembers.”
The latter half of roundup included Jade Wai‘ale‘ale Battad at eighth with 5,435 votes, with Addison Bulosan, Ed Justus, Wally Nishimura, Richard Fukushima, Shirley Simbre-Medeiros and Mike Dandurand rounding out the top 14 candidates.
In his office in Lihu‘e, Bulosan livestreamed with some of his campaign party. After the first print-out, he was hopeful to see where he’d land at the end of the night, with fingers-crossed to be in the top 14 to get on that November ballot.
“(We’re) in the best position, which is the need to be in because it means we can move forward,” Bulosan said.
Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar ran unopposed for the seat he’s held since 2012. District 8 State Sen. Ron Kouchi also ran unopposed.
In the race for State Representative D-15, incumbent James Tokioka lead at the time of the first printout with 4,319 votes, versus challenger Steve Yoder with 576 votes.
For State Representative D-16, incumbent Dee Morikawa received 3,938 votes tallied on the first printout and challenger Ana Mo Des received 339 votes.
Last year, Gov. David Ige signed Act 136, establishing voting by mail across all counties.
Voters received mail-in ballots in late July while last-minute voters utilized stainless steel ballot dropboxes at local fire stations or flocked to a singular Voter Service Center available at the Pi‘ikoi Building in Lihu‘e.
Ballots for the general election will be delivered in mid-October. Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 3.
For the final election ballot count, visit thegardenisland.com.
