LIHU’E — With only one exception, six of the seven incumbent Kaua’i County Council members were among the top votegetters in a field of 16 council candidates in yesterday’s primary election. With only 11 percent of the vote totals reported
LIHU’E — With only one exception, six of the seven incumbent Kaua’i County
Council members were among the top votegetters in a field of 16 council
candidates in yesterday’s primary election.
With only 11 percent of the
vote totals reported by about 9 p.m., incumbent Billy Swain had captured 1,511
votes, good enough for the eighth spot.
Bill “Kaipo” Asing, a former
councilman who ran for mayor in 1998, came in fourth, garnering 2,249
votes.
Few veteran election watchers expected any of the seven incumbents
to finish out of the primary running.
The 11 percent represented only 3,677
of the island’s 33,999 votes — primarily walk-in voters and those who voted
by absentee mail, according to county clerk Peter Nakamura.
The first
election results reflected none of the votes cast at any of the 19 precincts
islandwide.
Councilman Bryan Baptiste came in first with 2,324 votes.
Councilman Randal Valenciano came in second with 2,274 votes, followed by
Councilman Ron Kouchi (third with 2,249 votes), Asing, and council members
James Tokioka (fifth with 1,978 votes), Gary Hooser (sixth with 1,649 votes)
and Daryl Kaneshiro (seventh with 1,649 votes.
Political observers say
the fact that most of the incumbents received the highest number of votes
indicates residents support their decision on key issues.
They include the
rezoning of the Alexander and Baldwin lands in Po’ipu for a new resort and
approval of tax laws that protect small-time farming and ranching.
In early
poll results, John Barretto Jr., a former council member and a mayoral
candidate in 1986, came in ninth with 813 votes.
Barretto said he could win
a council seat in the general election in November if he stayed within range
of the top seven votegetters.
The other remaining seven candidates fared
this way:
l Cayetano “Sonny” Gerardo ,a former Kaua’i County civil defense
director, notched 661 votes.
l Kauilani Kahalekai had 472 votes.
l
Rhoda Libre collected 416 votes.
l Joseph Prigge Jr. garnered 362
votes.
l Anne Donovan captured 269 votes.
l Bob Cariffe finished in
15th position with 210 votes.
l Roger A. Ridgley Sr. finish in the last
spot with 130 votes.
Bob Meyers received 94 votes, but they didn’t count.
Meyers died while in Washington, D.C. for a Hawaiian sovereignty demonstration
this summer.
The 14 top votegetters for council who remain after ballots
are tabulated will compete for seven seats in the Nov. 7 general election.
Political observers say those who finished after the first seven top
finishers have to campaign harder and spend more if they want to win a council
seat.
Donovan said she doesn’t believe coming in after the first seven
slots will hurt her chances in the general election.
“If you really want do
this job, if you really want to do what you say are going to do, you don’t give
up,” she said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681
(ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net
