Uncertified election results show that first-time candidate Margaret “Maggie” Cox finished first overall and first in all Neighbor Island counties except Maui in the state Board of Education race for the Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau seat. She and Dr. Mitsugi Nakashima,
Uncertified election results show that first-time candidate Margaret “Maggie” Cox finished first overall and first in all Neighbor Island counties except Maui in the state Board of Education race for the Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau seat.
She and Dr. Mitsugi Nakashima, a former state Department of Education Kaua‘i district superintendent and BOE member, will face off in the Tuesday, Nov. 2 general election for the right to represent the county on the BOE.
Kalaheo resident William “Bill” Georgi finished a distant third overall and on all the Neighbor Islands.
The top two vote-getters in Saturday’s primary election advance to the general election.
Statewide, Cox finished with 18,893 votes, or 27.9 percent of the vote, with Nakashima finishing with 16,380, or 24.2 percent of the vote, and Georgi getting 5,071 votes, or 7.5 percent of the total. There were 27,404 blank votes, or 40.4 percent of all Neighbor Islanders who took ballots.
In the BOE races, all Neighbor Island voters are able to vote for all Neighbor Island candidates.
Breaking the results down by counties, Cox received 6,344 votes on Kaua‘i, or 44.6 percent of the vote. Nakashima got 4,287, or 30.2 percent, and Georgi received 1,007, or 7.1 percent.
There were 2,574 blank votes, or 18.1 percent of the total.
On the Big Island, Cox received 7,689 votes, or 23.1 percent of the vote, to 6,678 for Nakashima (20 percent), and 2,250 for Georgi (6.8 percent).
Most of the blank votes came from the Big Island, 16,691, or 50.1 percent of Big Island voters who took ballots.
Nakashima outpolled Cox on Maui, 5,415 to 4,860, or 26.8 percent to 24 percent, with Georgi receiving 1,814 votes, or 9 percent of the total.
There were 8,139 blank votes in Maui county (islands of Maui, Moloka‘i and Lana‘i), or 40.2 percent of the voters.
Neither Cox nor Nakashima could be reached for comment yesterday.
Incumbent BOE member Herbert S. Watanabe of the Big Island took first place overall and on all the Neighbor Islands, and he and Nadia Davies-Quintana, who placed second overall and on each of the Neighbor Islands, will square off in early November when Kaua‘i voters will once again be able to vote for both Kaua‘i and Big Island BOE candidates.
