Kagiwada wins Hawai’i County Council District 2 seat; three County Charter amendments approved

Update: With less than 650 ballots left outstanding islandwide, Jennifer Kagiwada will be the new representative for District 2 on the Hawai‘i County Council. According to the unofficial results, Kagiwada had 4,244 votes, or 48.3%, compared to the 3,974 votes, or 45.2%, for Matthias Kusch as of 4:40 a.m. Wednesday.

The Hawai‘i County Office of the County Clerk Elections Division said Thursday that there are only 621 ballots from around the island — not just District 2 — that were returned via mail that had an “envelope deficiency” of some kind, most likely a signature issue, which those voters have five business days after Tuesday’s election, or until Nov. 16, to cure and return to be counted, if they choose.

Kagiwada, who currently works as the legislative assistant for District 1 Councilwoman Heather Kimball, will replace current Council Vice Chairman Aaron Chung, who is term limited.

She said Thursday that she is grateful for the opportunity to work for the people of Hilo and Hawai’i County.

“I am inspired to be part of a County Council made up of seven talented, hard-working women and a couple of wonderful, collaborative men who will support each other’s district goals while pulling in the same direction to tackle the major islandwide issues facing our community,” Kagiwada said.

She will be one of three new faces on the next Council. Michelle Galimba will replace outgoing Council Chairwoman Maile David, who also is term limited, and Cindy Evans will take over the District 9 seat currently occupied by Tim Richards, who won the state Senate District 4 seat in Tuesday’s election. Galimba and Evans won their seats in the August primary.

The rest of the Council seats will remain filled by incumbents, who also won in the primary: Kimball; Sue Lee Loy, District 3; Ashley Kierkiewicz, District 4; Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, District 5; Rebecca Villegas, District 7; and Holeka Inaba, District 8.

The new Council will be sworn in at noon Dec. 5.

Kagiwada said her first order of business will be to staff her office and create communication channels with the residents of District 2 so that Hilo residents feel they have a voice in their community.

“Mahalo for putting your trust in me,” she said.

Kagiwada also thanked her “worthy opponent,” Kusch, for working hard on the campaign trail and pushing her to work even harder. Kusch called Kagiwada on Thursday morning to offer his congratulations after seeing the final read out of results.

“While obviously disappointed, it’s been an incredible experience and the outpouring of support by so many is both humbling and overwhelming,” he said. “I will continue forward, making an impact on an individual basis and the community at large by creating affordable housing, the Downtown Hilo Business Improvement District and, of course, Hilo Bayfront Trails.”

His only regret is that he will not be able to make a greater impact as a member of the Council.

“I wish Jennifer the best of luck and I would imagine at some point we’ll be collaborating together on one of the aforementioned projects in the future,” Kusch said.

Original story: Only one of the nine Hawai‘i County Council seats is up for grabs in the 2022 General Election: District 2, which features political newcomers Jennifer Kagiwada and Matthias Kusch. Only 40 votes separated them in the primary election.

As of 4:40 a.m. Wednesday, Kagiwada received 4,244 votes (48.3%) to lead Kucsh by 270 votes. Kusch has received 3,974 votes (45.2%).

The winner will replace Aaron Chung, who is term-limited.

District 2 is comprised of a portion of South Hilo that includes Downtown Hilo, Bayfront, Wailoa, a portion of Waiākea Houselots, University Heights, Komohana Gardens, a portion of Waiākea-Uka, Lanakila, Mohouli, Ainako, Ka‘ūmana, Pi‘ihonua, Wailuku and Waiānuenue.

Kagiwada, a Pi‘ihonua resident who has lived in the district for about nine years, works as the legislative assistant for District 1 Councilwoman Heather Kimball. She and her husband, Geoff Bower, have two children.

“Obviously, I’m very pleased and excited about the results so far,” Kagiwada said Tuesday night, adding she knew it would be pretty close because she and her opponent were putting the work in to connect with voters in the district.

Since March, she has been going door-to-door to meet and speak with voters. It provided the opportunity to listen to the people of the district and hear their concerns and possible solutions.

“It was not only beneficial for the campaign but also for me,” Kagiwada said.

She said if she is elected the next council member for District 2, she has a lot of stories and information to work with.

“I’m happy that the hard work part really did pay off,” Kagiwada said. “I had a plan, I stuck to it. I didn’t have as much money as my opponent, but I really think the work and going door-to-door really paid off.”

While all the votes have yet to be counted and the race is tight, she feels good about where things stand now. She thinks, if elected, she and the other Council members can come together to solve some big issues Hawai‘i County faces and looks forward to working with them.

“I’m excited for it,” Kagiwada said.

Kusch, a former first responder, retired in 2020 as a battalion chief after 25 years of service with the Hawai‘i Fire Department. He and his wife, Sunita, have three children.

Big Island Now also called Kusch on Tuesday night; however, he was unavailable for comment.

Eight of the nine council seats were decided in the August primary.

Michelle Galimba will fill the District 6 seat vacated by outgoing Council Chairwoman Maile David, who also is term limited. Cindy Evans will take over the District 9 seat currently occupied by Tim Richards, who is seeking the state Senate District 4 seat.

The rest of the Council seats remain filled by incumbents, who also won in the Aug. 13 primary: Heather Kimball, District 1; Sue Lee Loy, District 3; Ashley Kierkiewicz, District 4; Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, District 5; Rebecca Villegas, District 7; and Holeka Inaba, District 8.

Hawai’i County residents also Tuesday voted on three Charter Amendments.

Proposal No. 1: Membership for the Board of Ethics

Shall the Hawai‘i County Charter be amended to increase the membership of the Board
of Ethics from five members to seven members?

The proposed amendment was introduced by Councilmember Susan L.K. Lee Loy in May. The Board of Ethics had requested an increase in numbers in order to ensure a quorum for meetings, which had become a problem during the COVID-19 pandemic, and help with its workload.

Voters approved the amendment, with 35,157 (54.4%) voting yes and 23,937 (37.1%) voting no.

Proposal No 2: Expanding the Duties of the County Auditor

Shall the Hawai‘i County Charter be amended to expand the duties of the Office of the
County Auditor to include investigating allegations of fraud, waste or abuse within the
operations of the County of Hawai‘i?

Councilmember Ashley Lehualani Kierkiewicz introduced the amendment after realizing that tips and information obtained from the county’s 2022 pilot whistleblower program could not be investigated by the county auditor because the charter “actually restricts” it.

The amendment was approved, with 50,777 (78.6%) voting yes and 9,228 (14.3%) voting no.

Proposal No. 3: Establishing a Youth Commission

Shall the Hawai‘i County Charter be amended to establish a Youth Commission, which
would consist of at least nine but no more than 15 members between the ages of 14 and
24-years old, whose duties would include advising the Mayor, County Council, and
official agencies of the County on legislative and budgetary matters, assess existing
programs and advance new programs that support youth development, and encourage and
coordinate youth participation in County initiatives and other forms of civic engagement?

Councilmember Kierkiewicz also introduced Proposal No. 3. It was modeled after a similar commission created in the city and county of Honolulu two years ago and other similar commissions around the country.

This amendment was also approved, with 39,835 (61.7%) voting yes and 20,178 (31.2%) voting no.