Kaua‘i is getting another four years of Kawakami

LIHU‘E — Based on preliminary election results, it looks like the island is getting another four years of Kawakami.

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, incumbent Mayor Derek Kawakami was leading challenger Roven Michael Poai by an insurmountable margin, with 11,340 votes (77.9 percent) to Poai’s 2,484 votes (17.1 percent).

“On behalf of my wife Monica and our children Christopher and Hailee, I am so humbled and grateful to have the privilege to serve another four years as our island’s mayor,” said Kawakami.

“Our administration represents change and growth, and we are going to continue to push past our comfort zones and get creative to address our island’s complex issues. We look forward to working with our incoming County Council to build affordable housing for our local residents, improve aging infrastructure, build and maintain our parks and prioritize public safety.”

Spirits were high at Kawakami’s campaign event earlier Tuesday evening, with more than 100 in attendance at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center in Lihu‘e listening to live music from Russell Wellington and Charlie Iona.

The mayor said he wanted to “keep the momentum going.”

“We have so many initiatives going along,” said Kawakami. “Those first four years allowed us to get a lot of things done, but also to start laying tracks for the next four years.”

The mayor touted the changes he made to the DMV, road resurfacing, the Kealaula on Pua Loke housing project and the climate his administration created.

Kawakami’s most significant act as a mayor was perhaps his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he oversaw one of the most ambitious and rigid responses to the virus in the country.

Poai held a smaller-scale election event at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex pavilion in Kapa‘a, where he spoke with The Garden Island about his plans to audit county agencies and pay union county workers hazard pay for labor during the pandemic.

During the campaign, Poai criticized the Kawakami administration, bashing Kawakami for his handling of the adolescent drug treatment center, the housing crisis, and what he perceived as an unfair permitting process.

Poai lacked financial and institutional backing, spending only $6,202 on the race compared with Kawakami’s $238,030. While Kawakami received the endorsements of a range of union and business groups, Poai did not receive any endorsements.

This differed from the 2018 race, in which Kawakami soundly defeated more politically connected challengers in former Mayor JoAnn Yukimura and County Council Member Mel Rapozo to gain his first term in office.

Lines for in-person voting at the Voter Service Center were long, with some reporting wait times of up to an hour. At 5:30 p.m. the line stretched from the service center to the stairs of the Historic County Building next door.

Despite the lines, total voter participation was low, with only 30 percent total turnout as of the first printout, distributed at 8:15 p.m.

Though he got a larger share of the vote, Kawakami’s 11,340 votes represent less total support than his 2018 campaign, when he received 16,801 votes.

The campaign leaves the mayor with about $75,000 left in his war chest, which could hypothetically be used for a future bid for higher statewide office.

Asked if he has any plans for seeking higher office in four years, Kawakami said, “I don’t look that far.”

“What I can tell you is — I’ll be 49 and I’ll still need to have a job.”