Kawakami stands up for Kauai

LIHUE — Mayor Derek Kawakami traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to participate in the U.S. Conference of Mayors 87th Winter Meeting and met with the Hawaii congressional delegation to highlight and discuss federal priorities for the County of Kauai.

“I was pleased to represent Kauai at the U.S. Conference of Mayors and meet with the 116th Congress,” Kawakami said. “The week was an opportunity for us to discuss important issues for the County of Kauai with mayors from across the nation, and I look forward to following up with them, as well as the various federal agency representatives who participated in the conference and our Hawaii congressional delegation, to continue to achieve the priorities and goals for the county.”

Kawakami met with the members and staff of the Hawaii congressional delegation and provided them with updates of challenges and successes on Kauai.

He discussed the progress of the construction to strengthen the safety and mobility of the Lihue town core and outlined his priorities for creating affordable housing, increasing sustainability, improving transportation, and strengthening economic competitiveness through innovation.

“I also want to thank the Hawaii congressional delegation members for their tireless work to find a permanent solution to end the recent shutdown that has impacted so many of our local federal workers and their families,” Kawakami said.

Kawakami provided the Hawaii congressional delegation with detailed updates on the impacts of the 2018 floods and explained the proposed new landfill.

The conference was attended by over 230 mayors from across the nation. The themes of the conference included affordable housing, economic prosperity and equality. Kawakami was joined by mayor of the City and County of Honolulu Kirk Caldwell and mayor of Maui County Mike Victorino.

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Caleb Loehrer, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or cloehrer@thegardenisland.com.