LIHUE » Kauai County Parks Supervisor Bernard Carvalho Jr. handily defeated County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura in the race to replace the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste last night.

Carvalho, 46, Baptiste's handpicked successor who was supposed to run in 2010, used Baptiste's political contacts and support to ramp up his first-ever campaign after Baptiste's death in June.

With dozens of supporters and thousands of people at his party last night, Carvalho thanked his team and said he was “;elated”; by the results.

The result signified that Kauai voters “;want change ... They want to believe in our leadership,”; Carvalho added.

The former University of Hawaii football offensive lineman said his first order of business as mayor will be to “;address the issues one by one,”; and that the first issue will be the economy.

After assembling his Cabinet, Carvalho said, he will “;gather business leaders”; to come up with solutions for Kauai's struggling economy.

“;People are losing their jobs right now,”; he added.

He said the feeling he's got from the lead is like his time at UH.

“;It's about teamwork,”; he added.

“;We need to work closely with the Council,”; Carvalho continued. “;People don't want all the bickering. People want results.”;

At her campaign gathering at the Lihue Neighborhood Center, Yukimura conceded the race.

“;I stand ready to support and assist Bernard in whatever he does to make Kauai a better place.”;

Yukimura said the lack of time to effectively organize a campaign was a challenge, and that the island had changed greatly since she was mayor.

“;There's a lot more people; they are a lot more diverse,”; she added. “;There's more extremes, more rich and more poor, more conservative and more liberal.”;

Still, she said, “;The spirit of Kauai is still strong.”;

Yukimura outspent Carvalho.

According to the campaign spending reports released Friday, Yukimura had spent $225,000 to Carvalho's $165,000, and her campaign was about $35,000 in debt, with another $15,000 in unpaid expenditures.

In the Council race, results showed a number of surprises.

Derek Kawakami, a newcomer to politics but from a widely known Kauai family, and incumbents Jay Furfaro, interim Mayor Bill “;Kaipo”; Asing and Daryl Kaneshiro were elected.

Lani Kawahara, a Kauai librarian and a first-timer to politics, was elected along with incumbent Tim Bynum.

They were followed by television personality Dickie Chang.

Incumbent Ronald Kouchi fell short for the final Council spot.

The seven other candidates, including former chairman of the Kauai Republican Party and Board of Land and Natural Resources member Ron Agor, were far behind.