Kawakami seeks re-election for State House District 14

KAPAA — Rep. Derek S.K. Kawakami filed nomination papers Wednesday to seek re-election for State House District 14, which includes Hanalei, Princeville, Kilauea, Anahola, Kapaa and Wailua.

“I want to thank the people of Kauai and Nihau for bestowing upon me the honor of being able to serve them,” said Kawakami. “It is a privilege that I hold near and dear to my heart. This is not a job, this is a passion. The ability to wake up every day and have the goal of creating a brighter future for the next generation is something that drives me.”

As a representative of the 14th District, Kawakami serves as the Assistant Majority Leader as well as the Vice Chair of the Committee of Consumer Protection and Commerce. He is also a member of the Judiciary; Water and Land; Energy and Environmental Protection; and Ocean, Marine Resources, and Hawaiian Affairs committees.

Kawakami, 36, has nearly a decade of experience in public office.

Since being elected in 2006 to the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative Board of Directors and serving on the Kauai County Council from 2008-2011, Kawakami said his commitment to the community has been one of honoring the past and building the future.  

In the Legislature, Kawakami worked to pass HB2626, more commonly known as the Safe Routes to School Bill, which created a funding mechanism to appropriate money to the counties to create safe zones that promote walking and bicycling to school. Hawaii is the first in the nation to have a statewide Safe Routes to School initiative because of this particular measure. Since the passage of this bill, more than $1.1 million has been appropriated to the County of Kauai through the Safe Routes to School Program.

Kawakami has more than 12 years of business experience in operations at Big Save, Inc. and MFM, Inc.  

“When I was elected to the County Council in 2008, we were faced with the most dire economic outlook since the Great Depression,” said Kawakami. “While the county and state faced the harsh reality of doing more with less, so was our business community and more importantly, our everyday working class men and women. 

At Big Save, Inc., we were tasked with making necessary cuts to our operation while maintaining core services to the community. In my roles both in government and business, I worked with my colleagues to make hard decisions to weather the storm.”

As a Kauai County Council member, Kawakami served as chair of the Committee on Public Safety/Energy/Intergovernmental Relations and vice chair of the Committee of the Whole. He also served as the president of the Hawaii Association of Counties.

Raised on Kauai and a graduate of Kauai High School and Chaminade University, Kawakami spends his spare time as a member of the Kiwanis, Kauai Police Activities League Board, Advisory Board of Directors for Catholic Charities Kauai, and volunteering as a coach for AYSO soccer. He also played a role in getting wrestling into high schools as a sanctioned KIF sport. 

“Giving back to the community is something that was instilled in us from the very beginning,” he said.  “It is a part of my life just like being a husband, a father and a part of the greatest place on Earth, our home, Kauai. I would be honored to continue to serve District 14 for another term.”

Kawakami resides in Kapahi with his wife Monica and his children, Christopher and Hailee.