LIHU‘E — The roster of candidates vying for a seat on the Kaua‘i County Council looked a wee bit smaller on Saturday evening, as three people were on the brink of elimination in the Primary Election 2024.
Clint A. Yago Sr., Ana Mo Des and Jeffrey Lindner found themselves in positions 15, 16 and 17, respectively, after an initial tally was released by the Hawai‘i Office of Elections shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m.
Yago ended up nearly 100 votes behind Bart Thomas, who found himself in position 14. A total of 14 candidates advance to the November General Election.
The top two spots went to incumbent Councilman Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. and County Council Chair Mel Rapozo, followed by former Councilman Arryl Kaneshiro.
Carvalho and Rapozo were the only council candidates to earn more than 6,000 votes.
Ross Kagawa, KipuKai Kualii, Felicia Cowden, Addison Bulosan, Billy DeCosta, Fern Holland and Sherri Cummings rounded out the top 10. Abe Apilado Jr., W. Butch Keahiolalo and Jacquelyn Nelson ended up in positions 11, 12 and 13, respectively.
County of Kaua‘i Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Like also crossed the 6,000 vote threshold, although she ran unopposed in the primary.
The primary was lackluster from a turnout perspective with an anemic 25.2 percent of the registered voters on Kaua‘i participating in the contest.
That amounted to a total turnout of 11,862, the initial tally showed.
At the time of the election, the county had 46,980 registered voters, meaning more than 35,000 people sat on the sidelines.
Voters are making a huge mistake to re-elect Mel Rapozo. He has yesterday’s ideals and is not capable of moving Kauai in a positive direction. Votes matter, do your home work and dump him for a candidate that will move Kauai in a positive direction for all its citizens.