NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Former Mayor Yukimura files
for Kauai County Council seat

Maui Mayor Apana faces
3 opponents in the primary election

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By Anthony Sommer, Gary T. Kubota and Rod Thompson
tsommer@starbulletin.com | gkubota@starbulletin.com | rthompson@starbulletin.com

LIHUE >> Former Mayor JoAnn Yukimura ended a year and a half of "will she or won't she" speculation yesterday when she filed petitions to run for Kauai County Council.

Early last year, Yukimura announced she would not run again for mayor, but she noted her daughter would finish school on Oahu in 2002 and it might be a good time to run for Council. She waited until last week to pull petitions.

Yukimura, 52, was defeated in the 1994 Democratic primary by Councilman Jimmy Tehada. Lifelong Democrat Maryanne Kusaka had switched parties and ran as a Republican. Kusaka has held the office for the past eight years.

Yukimura's return to politics highlights neighbor island races that include mayor of Kauai and Maui counties as well as council races in all three counties.

KAUAI

Kusaka's chief aide, Wally Rezentes Sr., also has filed for Council, as has his chief critic, environmental activist Ray Chuan.

With three of the seven incumbent Council members departing to run for mayor and a fourth departing to seek a seat in the state Senate, a stampede of 29 candidates filed papers for the Council. The list contains the names of many hopefuls who have run the past several elections without winning a seat.

All three remaining Council incumbents -- Kaipo Asing, Daryl Kaneshiro and Jimmy Tokioka -- are seeking re-election.

Council members Bryan Baptiste, Ron Kouchi and Randal Valenciano, along with Dennis Nimke, will compete in the mayor's race.

Both the Council and mayor's office are now nonpartisan and the high number of candidates in both races virtually assures a run-off election in November.

MAUI

Valley Isle Councilman Robert Carroll of East Maui is running unopposed for re-election.

But all other incumbents in Maui County are facing opposition.

Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana is running against three candidates in the primary, including his 1998 general election opponent, Alan Arakawa.

But this time because of a change in the Maui County Charter, all mayoral candidates are running as nonpartisans.

The two candidates with the most votes, regardless of whether one has the majority of votes in the primary, will move on to the general election.

Apana ran as a Democrat in 1998, defeating Republican Arakawa.

The other mayoral candidates are environmentalist Robert W. Parsons and Haiku resident William Riddick, who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the council's Makawao seat against Alice Lee in 1996.

Four people are vying for Arakawa's Kahului seat on the Council.

They include former ILWU business agent Nicanor E. Casumpang Jr., law clerk and small business owner Herman Andaya, Kahului resident Joseph Pontanilla, and Diana Melehaulani Carroll, who has served as the chief of staff for state Sen. J. Kalani English.

The Molokai council seat is another position with a number of candidates, including Dennis "Danny" Mateo, who was selected by the Council to serve out the five-month term of the late Patrick Kawano.

Other candidates include former Molokai Community Services Council youth opportunity coordinator Stephanie S. Crivello, state unemployment supervisor Beverly E. Pauole-Moore, retired businessman Oliver D. Vanderbilt, George Kahinu, and cattle rancher Maria Hustace.

BIG ISLAND

Former Hawaii County Council members Takashi Domingo of Hamakua and Joseph Reynolds of central Kona are attempting to return to vacant seats they once held.

With no incumbent in the two Council seats, their campaigns may be the most interesting among county races which generally lack luster in the absence of a Big Island mayoral race this year to spark interest.

Domingo will face former unsuccessful mayoral candidate Fred Holschuh and Reynolds will square off against former unsuccessful Council contender Joseph Rosner.

Another vacant seat is in upper Puna-Kau-South Kona, where Green Party candidate Bob Jacobson, attempting to fill a seat vacated by his wife Julie, faces three challengers.

Incumbents in three other seats, Jimmy Arakaki, Gary Safarik, and Leningrad Elarionoff face challenges of uncertain strength.

Three other incumbents with no opposition, Aaron Chung, Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, and Curtis Tyler, are elected automatically.

Although Hawaii County is the last in the state to do so, this is the first year in which all council races are non-partisan.