LIHUE — JoAnn Yukimura announced today she will be running for mayor of Kauai County.
The Kauai County councilmember and former mayor said that Kauai is at a tipping point, and needs experienced and visionary leadership to navigate these pivotal times.
“I know that I can provide leadership to guide our way forward,” she said in a press release.
Yukimura will be holding an official announcement at 5 tonight on the steps of the Historic County Building.
As reflected by her record, Yukimura has been a leader who has always put community first, the release said. She has worked to effectively address many of Kauai’s challenges and make life better on Kauai.
During her first eight years on the Council, she started projects — many of them “firsts” — that continue to make a difference: the first Sunshine Market, the first bike path, the first self-help housing and the first public land trust, which permanently protects lands precious to our community such as coastal open space, wildlife habitat, cultural sites, and parklands.
“This is the kind of entrepreneurial spirit and know-how that is needed in the mayor’s office for the next four years,” the release said.
According to the release, her leadership has made it possible for more than 1,500 families to live in affordable housing at Komohana, Paanau, Kalepa Village, Lihue Court, Hokulei Estates, Halelani Village, Kanikoʻo at Rice Camp, Kolopua in Princeville, Courtyard at Waipouli, Eleʻele Nani, and the soon-to-be-built Koae housing development in Poipu, among others.
“The real test is not what candidates say, but what we actually do. My record shows that if you want to get the job done — and done well, with JoAnn, Kauai can! Together, we will effectively address today’s problems such as the lack of affordable housing, traffic congestion, homelessness, drug abuse, and the lack of good planning,” she said.
Yukimura served as mayor of Kauai from 1988 to 1994 and has served 10 terms on the County Council.
What about term limits? Plus the out of whack years on the mayor? Count it.
2008, 2009, 2013. Term for mayor has already ended in 2017. What are you people doing?
This is very good news!
I think our island needs a thoughtful, intelligent leader to guide us through all of the issues that are piling up. To me, Mel offer sounds bites and off the cuff solutions that aren’t in everyone’s interest. I also feel that Derek is involved in so many businesses, he wouldn’t be (isn’t?) making decisions for all of us. JoAnn has proven time and time again that she will listen respectfully to all sides, and make decisions that benefit most. JoAnn has no conflicts of interest or checkered past like our other candidates. Only integrity and intelligence can bring positive change and JoAnn is the only candidate with those qualities.
So now we’re supposed to (re)elect Mayors because they’re nice and have Aloha Spirit? How about effectiveness? How about getting something done that works. Joann’s baby, the bus, has been an expensive failure since it began. If she had gotten her way, there’d be NO hotels anywhere on this island and even more of our children would be leaving Kauai for jobs in Honolulu or the mainland. When the hurricane hit during her term, she was befuddled. It was others like the major landowners who actually cleared the highways for her.
Affordable housing? It was her bill that required developers to provide 40+% affordable (“workforce”) housing units for ALL residential development. That high ratio stopped all development dead in its tracks. All it did was to make existing housing more precious, expensive and out of reach for her supposed constituents.
“Aloha Spirit” will not get us affordable housing.