Kaua‘i candidates Bernard Carvalho and JoAnn Yukimura again clashed over leadership style and experience as they fielded questions from a pair of moderators as well as audience members and home viewers in the first-ever statewide mayoral debate last night in
Kaua‘i candidates Bernard Carvalho and JoAnn Yukimura again clashed over leadership style and experience as they fielded questions from a pair of moderators as well as audience members and home viewers in the first-ever statewide mayoral debate last night in Honolulu.
With six days remaining before the election Tuesday, the candidates retread many of their past squabbles, as Carvalho promised to implement a collaborative team approach while Yukimura slammed the ineffectiveness of past administrations and pointed to her two decades in county government as paramount.
The pair clashed most noticeably on the issue of waste management, with Carvalho encouraging adherence to the existing draft Integrated Solid Waste Management plan because “a lot of work and collaboration went into it.”
Yukimura said the plan her rival was referencing has not yet been approved because waste-to-energy programs have been deemed too expensive.
The two also argued about Carvalho’s role in developing affordable housing projects.
Yukimura painted her opponent as being part of the problem, again tying him to the $25,000 per-unit in-lieu fee from Kaua‘i Lagoons to meet its affordable housing requirement.
In response, the on-leave county Parks and Recreation Department director said he was “proud” of his ability to bring all the players to the table.
On wide-ranging topics — such as the Hawai‘i Superferry, for which both professed support if negative impacts can be mitigated; a proposed county manager form of government, which both opposed; protection of burial sites, which both promised to secure; and ocean drownings, which both promised to address — the candidates largely agreed on solutions while disagreeing on matters of style.
In her opening remarks, Yukimura, who currently sits on the Kaua‘i County Council and served as mayor from 1988 to 1994, said Carvalho is a “warm and good person” but is “not qualified” and “not knowledgeable on the issues.”
“There is only one issue in this race — who can best lead?” the 58-year-old Lihu‘e resident said.
Carvalho, 46, of Kapa‘a, took a decidedly forward-looking tack, saying, “This election is not so much about what we have done in the past as it is about what we can do in the future. … What you really need to know is whether your mayor can lead you through new and uncharted territory.”
Out of 17,941 ballots cast in the September primary election, Carvalho won 7,144 votes to Yukimura’s 5,324. Both are continuing to vie for third place mayoral candidate finisher Councilman Mel Rapozo’s endorsement.
The winner of the special election next week will serve for the two years left on the term of the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste, who unexpectedly died in June.
The event — which also featured Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann versus Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi and former Big Island mayoral executive assistant Billy Kenoi against Councilman Angel Pilago — was held at the Hawai‘i Theater.
• On the Net: www.bernardcarvalho.com, www.joannyukimura.com
