LIHU‘E — Mayor Derek Kawakami led the pack in the mayoral primary Saturday with 10,921 votes (76.6%), according to early results.
County employee Michael Roven Poai finished in a distant second place with 1,510, or 10.6% of the vote, meaning that the pair will face off in the general election in November.
Self-employed contractor Mitch McPeek (439 votes, 3.1%) and former business executive Megeso William-Denis (380 votes, 2.7%) were both eliminated from contention.
“I wake up everyday and say that I have the best job in the world,” Kawakami said Saturday night at his election function at the Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center.
”I have been honored and humbled to have served Kaua‘i County these past few years,” said Kawakami after voting closed Saturday. “I want to thank and congratulate all the candidates for putting yourself out there and being a part of the democratic process. We’re also very grateful to everyone who took the time to vote. We know we’re not done yet, and we’ll head to the general election in November continuing to work hard for the people of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.”
Poai, a newcomer to the political arena, has an uphill climb to topple the incumbent mayor.
Kawakami’s campaign is much better funded than his opponents’, with disclosures showing that he spent $195,451 during the election period — more than 10 times his three opponents combined.
“I was told if I made it to the general then money would come my way,” said Poai after election results were released. “I still believe it’s not over ‘til it’s over, just gotta work hard in the general.”
Kawakami’s term as mayor was defined by his COVID-19 response, where the mayor imposed some of the strictest measures in the nation.
Kawakami imposed a curfew, highway checkpoints and monitoring bracelets to track tourist movements.
The administration has touted the mayor’s customer-service initiatives, including the implementation of a no-wait system at the DMV and placing vehicle-registration kiosks across the island for convenient renewals.
Under his administration, a new transitional housing facility was developed at Pua Loke, and he has listed improving affordable housing as a primary goal of his administration going forward, with several new projects in the works.
The mayor opted not to weigh in on the latest affordable-housing measure considered by the County Council, which would have amended the county charter to ensure at least 2% of the budget each year goes to affordable housing. The measure was voted down by the County Council earlier this month.
986 voters (6.9%) left the mayoral ballot blank, and 13 voted for write-in candidates.
