Veteran Kaua’i County Councilman Randal Valenciano made it official yesterday: He is running for mayor. By filing nomination papers, Valenciano became the first candidate in the 2002 primary election to take the next step in a bid to win the
Veteran Kaua’i County Councilman Randal Valenciano made it official yesterday: He is running for mayor.
By filing nomination papers, Valenciano became the first candidate in the 2002 primary election to take the next step in a bid to win the county’s highest office.
Other incumbent councilmembers have taken out papers for the mayor’s race, but have not filed to run. They are Council Chair Ron Kouchi and Councilman Bryan Baptiste.
Others who have announced plans to run for mayor but who have not filed nomination papers are Ray Chuan of Hanalei and Dennis Nimkie of Lihu’e.
During his 12 years on the Council, Valenciano, an attorney with offices in Lihu’e, has built a reputation as an independent and balanced lawmaker. Valenciano takes pride in listening to both sides of an issue before rendering a decision.
Valenciano says he will work to keep Kaua’i’s economy strong in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, which severely hit the state’s economy last fall before rebounding this year, and following the closure of Amfac’s sugar cane plantations Lihue Plantation and Kekaha Sugar.
He has proposed diversification of the economy so that Kaua’i’s economy will not be overly dependent on tourism, the island’s mainstay industry.
As operator of a small business, Valenciano said he will continue to assist small businesses, a sector of the economy he calls the “backbone” of the state’s economy.
While pushing for development, Valenciano wants to make sure that Kaua’i’s natural beauty is preserved for future generations.
In the 1990s, Valenciano said he helped find solutions to problems confronting the county, including the recovery from Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992, which brought tight county budgets that threatened layoffs and tax raises. Other issues of interest to Valenciano include implementing parts of a county solid waste management plan and approval of the county’s General Plan Update, a key land development policy for Kaua’i for the next 20 years.
