LIHUE — Council member Derek Kawakami is taking his vision for Kauai to the next level and is throwing his hat in the running for Kauai County Mayor in the 2018 election. It’s a move he’s been considering for years,
LIHUE — Council member Derek Kawakami is taking his vision for Kauai to the next level and is throwing his hat in the running for Kauai County Mayor in the 2018 election.
It’s a move he’s been considering for years, and the idea sparked when Kawakami was co-chair of Senator Dan Inouye’s campaign in 2004, when Kawakami was 27 years old.
“It’s always something that we’ve been thinking about and that’s been encouraged for me for a number of years,” Kawakami said. “There’s been tremendous support from the community.”
Should he be elected, Kawakami said he’d be focusing on affordable housing, traffic and creating more resources on Kauai for all residents and for new and growing businesses.
“We need to take action on these issues now to alleviate hardships that our residents face daily,” he said.
Kawakami continued: “For me, it’s simple. I’m a dad and I want my children and all of our keiki to have the opportunity to live, work and thrive right here on Kauai when they become adults.”
The way he plans to do that is to approach the “bread and butter issues” on Kauai, like traffic and housing, in a holistic way versus piecemealing the issues into separate categories.
“It takes bridge-building and it’s going to require partnerships with public and private sectors,” Kawakami said.
One potential holistic solution to some of Kauai’s troubles is to shift growth toward a live-work-play paradigm, where communities are made up of mixed-use properties and multi-modal transportation options are available.
Keeping Kauai up to date with the latest technology is another focus for Kawakami, who said he thinks its important for the island to have 21st century tools available.
“With 21st century IT (information technology) and infrastructure, we can create 21st century jobs,” Kawakami said. “How can county government make it easier for people to operate business on Kauai?”
Caring for the county’s existing facilities is also high on Kawakami’s priority list, as well as looking toward the future with things like the nearly topped-off Kekaha landfill.
Growing up, the fourth generation Kauai resident worked in his family’s businesses, which have included Big Save, Menehune Food Mart, Happy Kauaian, Kauai Kookie, Kauai Kitchen, Kukui Nut Tree Inn, Subway Restaurants and Kapaa and Kilauea Shell Gas Stations.
“I’m a unique candidate with a lifetime of private sector experience. I worked in retail,” Kawakami said.
From 2008-11, Kawakami served on the Kauai County Council before being appointed to the Hawaii State House, representing the 14th House District, by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
He left his seat at the legislature in 2016 to seek a two-year term on the Kauai County Council and to return to his home island to spend more time with his family.
It’s a move that he said he was more than happy to make.
Now, he’s hoping to continue on his mission of improving the Kauai community by taking it to what he calls “a bigger platform”.
Kawakami announced his bid for the 2018 election to a crowd of supporters Thursday evening on Rice Street.
“I am running for Mayor because I want to make an even greater difference in the lives of our families, from keiki to kupuna,” he said.
