A precinct-by-precinct analysis of the Sept. 20 primary election results released this week shows Kaua‘i County Council candidates Bill “Kaipo” Asing of Lihu‘e and Daryl Kaneshiro of Koloa receiving a higher percent of the votes in the 16th District than
A precinct-by-precinct analysis of the Sept. 20 primary election results released this week shows Kaua‘i County Council candidates Bill “Kaipo” Asing of Lihu‘e and Daryl Kaneshiro of Koloa receiving a higher percent of the votes in the 16th District than they did in the county’s other two representative districts.
The pair finished first and second, respectively, in the district that encompasses part of the South Shore, all of the Westside and Ni‘ihau.
Asing, who finished second overall, tallied 2,863 votes to fifth overall finisher Kaneshiro’s 2,595.
A long-time councilman who stepped down this summer to temporarily serve as mayor, Asing won five of the seven precincts and secured the highest number of absentee votes in the district. Kaneshiro topped the Koloa Elementary School precinct by 13 votes.
Contrasting with Asing and Kaneshiro’s 16th District success, incumbents Jay Furfaro of Princeville and Wailua resident Tim Bynum experienced their lowest finishes there.
Furfaro, who was first overall, ended up third in the district with 2,416 votes. Bynum, third overall, was seventh in the district with 1,949 votes.
Meanwhile, first-time candidates Derek Kawakami of Kapa‘a and Dickie Chang of Lihu‘e slid up a slot to the sixth and seventh highest vote-getters in the district, respectively.
Kawakami was the top vote-getter at the Waimea Neighborhood Center precinct with 251 votes, leading second place finisher Asing by 10.
Incumbent Ron Kouchi maintained his fourth-place overall finish, pulling in 2,412 votes in the district. He saw slightly better results from the absentee vote in the district than at some of the Westside precincts.
The primary results for Ni‘ihau’s sole precinct, where 30 of the 85 registered voters turned out, shows Asing and Kawakami tied at the top with 22 votes apiece. Kouchi finished third on the privately owned island with 21 votes, followed by Kaneshiro with 17 and Chang with 13.
All seven council seats in the at-large race are up for election. The term is two years. The top 14 of the 22 candidates who filed to run advanced Saturday to the general election on Nov. 4.
While the top seven vote-getters at the primary remained the same in the 16th District, despite the shuffle in the rankings, the bottom seven’s makeup changed.
Koloa resident John Hoff, who finished 15th overall, slid into the 14th spot in the district with 912 votes, bumping first-time candidate George Thronas Jr. of Kapa‘a, the 12th overall vote-getter, down to 15th in the district with 766 votes.
Lihu‘e residents Christobel Kealoha and Ron Agor found more support in the 16th District than elsewhere in the county, finishing eighth and ninth in the district, respectively.
Kealoha, who was 11th overall, earned 1,599 votes while Agor, 10th overall, collected 1,523.
This nudged Kapa‘a resident Lani Kawahara down from her eighth overall finish to 10th in the district with 1,418 votes and Lihu‘e resident KipuKai Kuali‘i, ninth overall, to 11th in the district with 1,342.
Kekaha resident Bruce Pleas found a little more footing in his hometown district, sliding up from 14th overall to 13th in the district with 1,081 votes.
In the race for the last two years left on the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s term, Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, the second overall finisher, fell to third by a three-vote margin to fellow Councilman Mel Rapozo. Both are Lihu‘e residents.
Kapa‘a resident Bernard Carvalho led the district, and the overall results, with 2,117 votes, 494 more than Rapozo.
The fourth mayoral candidate, first-timer Rolf Bieber of Kapa‘a, received 181 votes.
Yukimura won the Koloa Elementary School precinct, but Carvalho took the other six plus the highest percent of absentee votes in the district.
Turnout Saturday fluctuated slightly between precincts. The percent of registered voters to cast ballots at the primary was highest on Ni‘ihau at 35 percent and lowest at the Koloa Elementary School precinct at 23 percent.
County and state officials said they expect a higher turnout at the general election in less than six weeks.
For complete results, visit hawaii.gov/elections
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@kauaipubco.com
Total 16th District votes for the top 14 Kaua‘i County Council candidates in the primary election Sept. 20:
(2) Asing 2,863
(5) Kaneshiro 2,595
(1) Furfaro 2,416
(4) Kouchi 2,412
(6) Kawakami 2,317
(7) Chang 2,198
(3) Bynum 1,949
(11) Kealoha 1,599
(10) Agor 1,523
(8) Kawahara 1,418
(9) Kuali‘i 1,342
(13) Libre 1,206
(14) Pleas 1,081
(15 ) Hoff 912
Total 16th District votes for the four Kaua‘i mayoral candidates in the primary election Sept. 20:
(1) Carvalho 2,117
(3) Rapozo 1,623
(2) Yukimura 1,620
(4) Bieber 181
Source: State Office of Elections
