[ MAYOR ]
LIHUE >> What looked like a certain blow-out victory for Bryan Baptiste in Saturday's primary has become a nose-to-nose contest for the Kauai mayor's seat. Kauai rivals court
Valenciano votersBy Anthony Sommer
tsommer@starbulletin.comRon Kouchi, who many observers believed would finish a distant second (and possibly even third to Randal Valenciano), ended up in a virtual tie with Baptiste. He trailed by less than 400 votes.
Immediately after the results were in Saturday night, both candidates acknowledged the campaign leading to the general election will be a tug of war for the 3,900 voters who supported Valenciano.
Valenciano has not indicated whether he will ask his supporters to back fellow Democrat Kouchi.
"That's a tough question," Valenciano said Saturday night.
"I certainly would welcome support from anyone who is available, including Randal," Kouchi said, "But the fact is, either way, it's important to work hard to appeal to Randal's supporters. Even with his endorsement their vote would not be automatic."
Baptiste agreed. "We have to talk directly to Randal's supporters."
Kouchi has 20 years of consecutive service on the Council, more than any current member.
His family's business, Garden Island Disposal, is the largest private waste-hauling company on the island and thus the largest paying customer of the nearly full county landfill. The company was started by his father and is run by his brother.
Kouchi, an insurance salesman, says he receives no income from Garden Island Disposal, therefore he does not have a conflict of interest. But he has repeatedly ignored advice from friends and foes alike to back away from the solid-waste issue. He called a news conference in the Council chambers recently to praise his family's business.
Baptiste relies heavily on his political pedigree, and even Kouchi concedes that is a major obstacle for him to overcome. Baptiste, despite his GOP label, comes from a family of Democratic politicians.
Baptiste's father, Anthony Baptiste, was a longtime chairman of the County Board of Supervisors (equivalent to mayor in the current municipal-style organization), and his brother was a councilman.
Baptiste brushes off the fact that his father ran Kauai County from jail during much of 1955 while doing time for tax evasion.
"The voters were so upset with him, they only re-elected him three more times," Baptiste chuckles.
One of the major differences between the two in recent years has been in their relationship with the administration of Mayor Maryanne Kusaka. Baptiste has been a loyal supporter of Kusaka, a fellow Republican. Kouchi has become one of her leading critics.
Despite Baptiste's alliance to her, however, Kusaka did not endorse him for mayor. Her only endorsement went to Linda Lingle for governor. Kusaka remains highly popular on Kauai, and her refusal to anoint Baptiste as her successor was seen as a blow to his campaign.
Bryan Baptiste vs. Ron Kouchi
Keys to victory: Baptiste plans to sway supporters of third-place finisher Randal Valenciano. Kouchi says he will stress job creation but not "at the expense of the environment."