Two political first-timers, Jenn Kagiwada and Matthias Kusch, will face each other in a runoff election in November for the County Council District 2 seat representing Hilo.
The seat is held by former County Council Chairman Aaron Chung, who is term-limited after being in office for eight years.
During Saturday’s primary election, Kagiwada, 57, an aide to District 1 Councilwoman Heather Kimball and Hawaii Island coordinator for the Women’s March, was in a virtual dead heat with 56-year-old Kusch, a retired Hawaii County Fire Department battalion chief and vice president of Hilo Bayfront Trails Inc.
After mail-in ballots were tallied, Kagiwada had 2,426 votes, or 38.8% of valid votes cast, just 10 votes more than Kusch’s 2,416, or 38.6%.
“I’m excited; I think this will be really good,” Kagiwada said. “I spent most of my campaign being very grass-roots, going door-to-door to 4,000 houses. And that’s what I’m going to keep doing — talking to the people of Hilo, hearing what their concerns are and telling them what my ideas are.
“I think my values line up very well with the people of Hilo.”
Kusch said Kagiwada “ran a good campaign” and added, “I’ve got my work cut out ahead of me.”
“We’re all first-time candidates, and it’s great that the voters have some good strong blood to choose from. I hope I can turn the tables in the next few months, but I know she’s going to work hard, too,” Kusch said. “You know, it’s a good thing for the Hilo voters.”
Kusch was the best-financed of the candidates, reporting $65,275.56 raised and $48,015.48 spent, while Kagiwada reported raising $29,721.19 and spent $25,503.11.
The hotly contested race had five candidates.
TK Wehrsig, a custodian at Hawaii Community College, the designer/owner of the original clothing website Ha Toa, and the founder and administrator of the Facebook page Big Island Thieves, was a distant third with 1,152 votes, or 18.4% of the valid votes cast.
Maurice Goulding and William Halversen were even farther back, with 160 votes, or 2.6%, and 100 votes, or 1.6%, respectively.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
