James Hustace defeats incumbent Cindy Evans in race for Hawai‘i County Council seat

This story has been updated to reflect comments from candidates in the county council races.

James Hustace defeated incumbent Cindy Evans in the race for a seat on Hawai‘i County Council in the 2024 General Election.

The first printout of results from the State of Hawai‘i Office of Elections came in at 11:40 p.m. A second printout was published at 12:26 a.m. on Wednesday. The number of votes didn’t change between the two printouts.

Evans, who was running for a second term to represent North and South Kohala in District 9, received 3,192 votes. Hustace garnered 4,191.

Hustace said he attributes his win to his family, friends and dedicated community volunteers.

Hustace has been involved with community service in the Kohala community for years. Outside of his work as a substitute teacher and art appraiser with his father’s business, he has led volunteer efforts throughout the community, including restoring Ke Ala Kahawai O Waimea, also known as the Waimea Stream Trail.

His first order of business will be to establish his office staff. Hustace plans to find funding for infrastructure projects in his district, including cesspool conversion for residents, emergency road access in Waikōloa and addressing the reef.

On Wednesday, Evans said she learned a lot through this election process and felt good about what she accomplished during her term as councilwoman.

Evans said she’s proud of the work she did to get the flood plain study done for Puakō.

Evans’ campaign hit a snag when election postcards she paid to send to constituents in her district didn’t get mailed till last week after they were sent to addresses in Hilo.

“That was big part of my campaign,” Evans said, adding while she doesn’t think it cost her the election, she feels she probably would’ve garnered more votes.

Evans plans to continue to work in the community and get a domestic violence nonprofit off the ground.

Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, who was seeking re-election for a fourth and final term to represent District 5, garnered 3,556 votes. He faced off against former Hawai‘i County Public Works director Ikaika Rodenhurst, who trailed with 2,655 votes.

People waited in line for hours to cast their ballots at voting service centers statewide. News outlets on O‘ahu reported people were still in line to vote at 11 p.m. at Honolulu’s satellite city hall site at Kapolei Hale in Kapolei.

In the his years of running for county council, Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder said he’s never had to wait this long for results.

For anyone running for office the anticipation of results is nerve-wracking. 

“It’s six months of stress,” Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder said.

The councilman attributed his success over his opponent to the work he’s done over the years with the community.

Making promises over the years to fix roads and address public safety, Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder said he’s pushed to get Stainback Road paved to give residents to the area access. He secured funding to add 10 Puna patrol police positions and was involved in getting the county’s free vehicle disposal program off the ground.

“It’s important to have someone committed to getting things done,” Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder said.

Moving into his final term, Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder said his goal is to get projects funded so they can benefit the upper Puna communities in the years to come.

Already in the works is funding for the new Kea’au fire station and the Kea’au Community Center is in the design phase.

The councilman will also continue to work on emergency access routes for the area.

During the Primary Election in August, six council members Holeka Goro Inaba, Jenn Kagiwada, Heather Kimball, Michelle M. Galimba and Rebecca A. Villegas won their contests outright.

Evans and Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder were the only two council members who headed for a runoff after not capturing more than 50% of the vote during the primary election.

Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, who represents Lower Puna and Pāhoa in District 4, is the only council member to run unopposed.

Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, a former county council member, won the District 3 seat, representing portions of South Hilo and Kea‘au, after garnering 51% of the vote in the primary. He will take over for Sue Lee Loy of Hilo, who was term-limited after serving eight consecutive years.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Kaneali’i-Kleinfelder hadn’t reached out to Hustace or Onishi but he is looking forward to watching their decision-making once they take their seats on the council.

In the primary, Lee Loy won her race for State Representative and will represent District 3.

Hawai‘i County Council seats are two-year terms. According to the Office of Elections, the seat is limited to a maximum of four consecutive terms.

Before Election Night, Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said there is still a lot to be done in his district, like addressing road access, adding he is trying to set up the area for what it needs for the next decade.

Earlier Tuesday, Rodenhurst said if he’s elected, he would focus on improving subdivision roads and the alternative road access from the mountain to the ocean.

Evans trailed behind Hustace during the primary election, where he captured the most votes with 2,268 (44%). Evans garnered 1,961 (38%).

Evans, who served in the Hawai‘i State Legislature as a Hawai‘i Island representative from 2002 to 2018, said she spent her first term with the county learning the inner workings of the departments. Entering a second term, she hopes she will be able to use that knowledge to make some changes.