Hawai‘i County Council Member Jennifer “Jenn” Kagiwada faced four challengers in Saturdayʻs primary, but she will keep her seat representing Hilo in District 2 after garnering more than 50% of the vote, according to the third election summary report of the state Office of Elections.

County Council incumbents Heather Kimball (District 1) and Dennis “Fresh” Onishi (District 3) also won their contests Saturday with commanding leads over their challengers. Newcomer Manu Powers won the District 7 seat, and Holeka Inaba (District 8) and James Hustace (District 9) ran unopposed and also will return to the council.

So that leaves three seats on the council left to be decided in the general election on Nov. 3.

• District 4: Eileen O‘Hara vs. Lloyd Enriquez
• District 5: Shannon Matson vs. Ikaika Rodenhurst
• District 6: Guy Enriques vs. Zed Ka‘apana Aki

Primary election results will be certified on Aug. 14. According to the Hawai‘i County’s Office of Elections website, 44,036 ballots were received out of 114,016 issued (38.6%). It was better than the statewide voter turnout of 32.7%.

On Monday, Kagiwada said: “I really didn’t know what to expect” with four people running against her for the seat to represent downtown Hilo, Puainako, Waiākea Uka, Kaumana, Mauna Kea and Pōhakuloa, and part of Saddle Road until it splits at Daniel K. Inouye Highway.

Kagiwada said she is humbled by the supporters who put their trust in her once again.

“I look forward to creating policy that supports residents and makes their lives better.”

Going into her next term, Kagiwada said she is focused on continuing to think about the Downtown Hilo area: “It needs more support to be the vibrant area we want it to be to bring residents back downtown.”

District 4

O‘Hara and Enriquez will go head-to-head for District 4 in the general election, an open seat with Ashley Kierkiewicz unable to run again due to term limits. O‘Hara was the top vote getter with 1,588 votes (33.6%). Enriquez received 1,149 votes (24.3%).

Finishing third was Cyd L. Hoffeld with 17.3% and Shannon Burrows was fourth with 15.9%.

Going into Saturday’s primary, O’Hara felt confident that she had performed well in her campaign, despite entering the race late in April, saying: “I’m not a newbie.”

O‘Hara was a council member for one term in 2016 and has served on several state commissions and county boards. She added: “I’ve been organizing campaigns for 26 years.”

O’Hara said the primary results put her a good place to hone in on the general election in November. She intends to continue to meet with people in small group discussions, do a couple of fundraisers to be out in the public and work with lineal descendants of Honolulu Landing to plan a kīpapai or blessing ceremony after Hawai‘i County purchased the land through the PONC program.

O’Hara said Puna needs to address some basic needs, including the traffic on Highway 130. It takes people an hour and half to get to town when it should be 45 minutes, she said.

There have been studies looking at Puna Mauka and Puna Makai routes for Keaʻau-Pāhoa Road, or Highway 130 to alleviate traffic but no work has begun. O’Hara said: “It’s time to find the money to make the improvements.”

Enriquez said the real work begins as he campaigns for the general.

“Campaigning is so much work, but we do it because we believe in a better community,” he said.

With voting numbers so low, Enriquez said people need to vote if they want to see change.

“That’s why we run for office,” he said. “Every candidate is there to support the community, and we all take different roads to get there.”

Enriquez said he continues to stay focused on traffic, infrastructure and sustainability for lower Puna, adding the ultimate goal is to represent the people and bring back the trust back to government.

District 5

In District 5, the race was especially tight with only 76 votes separating the top three vote-getters in the five-person race.

Matson received the most votes at 981 (22.5%) and will face off against Ikaika Rodenhurst with 951 votes (21.8%). Dawn Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder, who was trying to win the seat currently held now by her husband Matt Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder, finished third with 905 votes (20.8%).

Seaula Jr Tupaʻi finished fourth with 18.4% and Chantel Mākuaole-Perrin was fifth with 9.8%.

Jon Henricks, Hawai‘i County Clerk, confirmed Monday morning that while the District 5 race was close, it was not enough to trigger a recount.

Henricks said the recount would automatically occur if the gap between the candidates was less than 1/2 of 1%. The state elections office also confirmed the only races that would be recounted were Republican races for State Senate District 20 and State Representative District 43, both representing communities on O‘ahu.

On Monday, Matson said she went into Saturday’s primary expecting it to be close: “All candidates were strong candidates.”

While Matson is excited to be the frontrunner, she said she has more work to do to continue to get her message out. She will continue canvassing and sign waving, with a “mahalo” sign waving scheduled today.

“I feel like my message has been the same from the start,” Matson said. “My goal is to hear from them and what’s important to them.”

Rodenhurst also said he expected it to be a close race: “Puna is a diverse community and has a lot of good people stepping up. It shows how many qualified candidates we have.”

Rodenhurst said he will continue his message into the general election focusing on roads, infrastructure and community resilience.

“That’s what the community wants, and I’ll continue being out there,” he said.

District 6

Enriques and Ka‘apana Aki will compete for the District 6 seat to represent South Kona and Ka‘ū. The seat now is held by Michelle Galimba, who did not seek re-election.

Enriques was the top vote getter with 1,362 (27.7%), followed by Aki with 1,023 votes (20.8%).

Justin R. Canelas finished in third with 19%, Jason R. Masters was fourth with 15.6% and Keyle Kepano Jones was fifth with 7%.

Enriques said there were good candidates to choose from that spread the votes around. And Aki said he is humbled by the results of the primary.

“It feels awesome to have the support of the community,” Aki said. “I’m more encouraged than ever. I know we’re going to win it.”

On Monday, Aki emphasized he wants to be a council member who listens to what his community wants and plans to fight for their recognition by the county and get priority status for their needs.

District 7

With Council Member Rebecca Villegas unable to run for re-election due to term limits, the open seat to represent the Kona District was won by Powers with 2,659 votes (58.7%).

Edgar “Eddie O” Ombac finished second with 19% and Mark Henriques was third with 11.2%.

Powers said she takes this responsibility seriously and is “deeply humbled” by the trust the community has put into her.

“My warmest aloha and congratulations to Mark and Eddie on an excellent race,” Powers said. “Campaigning is hard work, especially while you are managing commitments and trying to make a living all the while. I look forward to the education and hard work to follow in the name our community and the people who call it home.”

See previous election coverage below:

District 1: Incumbent Heather Kimball seeks re-election for 4th and final term against two challengers

District 2: District 2 incumbent for Hawai‘i County Council faces 4 challengers

District 3: Incumbent versus challenger, with primary winner capturing the Hawaiʻi County Council seat

District 4: Hawaiʻi County’s District 4 is an open council seat with Ashley Kierkiewicz unable to run due to term limits

District 5: District 5 candidates for Hawaiʻi County Council bring distinct knowledge, experiences to race

District 6: Candidates for Ka‘ū District seat on Hawai‘i County Council talk priorities for rural and remote area

District 7: 3 candidates running for open Kona District County Council seat talk housing, parks, infrastructure

Districts 8 and 9: These seats are uncontested.