Feral Cats, ICE And Overtourism: Kauaʻi County Mayoral Candidates’ Q&As
6 candidates answer key questions facing the incoming mayor of the Garden Isle.
The terming out of Kauaʻi County Mayor Derek Kawakami has set up an electoral contest between half-a-dozen nonpartisan candidates all looking for votes in the Hawaiʻi General Election on Nov. 3.
But first they will have to prevail in the Hawaiʻi primary election on Aug. 8, where the top two finishers will advance regardless of the vote percentage. Voters should receive their primary election mail ballot packets July 21.
The candidates include longtime council members, a former Kauaʻi mayor and fresh political hopefuls, all of whom will have to seek solutions to challenges such as the impending closure of the Kekaha Landfill, a deadline to convert Kauaʻi’s 14,000 cesspools, destructive invasive species, hurricane preparedness and a housing supply stretched thin.
All the candidates for Kauaʻi County Mayor filled out a survey sent to them by Civil Beat and their responses are linked here in alphabetical order under their official ballot name. Each survey included one question submitted by a constituent as well. Here are those surveys, which you can also compare all in one spot on Civil Beat’s 2026 Hawaiʻi Primary Ballot.
Go to Civil Beat’s 2026 Elections Guide for general information.
