Two Hawaii County Council members from East Hawaii appeared to keep their seats Saturday while a third is headed for a runoff after a close Primary Election.
Three of the council’s five windward members had contested races on Saturday: Heather Kimball of District 1, covering North Hilo, Hamakua and portions of Waimea; Jenn Kagiwada of District 2, including Hilo and parts of South Hilo; and Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder of District 5, encompassing Upper Puna and portions of Keaau.
Ashley Kierkiewicz, councilwoman for District 4 in lower Puna, was unchallenged in her race, and Sue Lee Loy, councilwoman for District 3, including South Hilo and portions of Keaau, was termed out and ineligible to run again, leaving four candidates to vie for her seat.
Kimball seemed on track to eke out a win for her third term, beating out two challengers — farmer and small business owner Brittany Anderson and former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion Jay D. “BJ” Penn.
By early Saturday evening, Kimball had received about 53% of the vote. To avoid a runoff, she needed to exceed 50% of the total votes cast.
“I never count my chickens before they hatch, but I’m feeling optimistic and very grateful to my community,” Kimball said.
Kimball added that she has several irons in the fire that she’s eager to continue working on, from wastewater improvements to public trail projects to ongoing amendments to the county’s short-term vacation rental regulations.
Kagiwada also sailed toward victory, handily fending off three challengers — Blaine Kenji Bautista, Grace Manipol and Gigi Napoleon — with 64% of the vote.
“I’m grateful that District 2 still wants me to represent them,” Kagiwada said. “And I’m grateful to my competition, since they pushed me to work harder … our community benefits from that.”
Kagiwada said she hopes to continue to address Hilo issues including homelessness and updating rental tax regulations, and has other long-term projects in development that she’s excited to keep working on, including one addressing the water quality in Hilo Bay.
The District 5 race, meanwhile, is headed for a runoff election.
Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder came out ahead of his four challengers — Ikaika Rodenhurst, Haylie L. Taylor, Aaron Tolentino and Sysha-Marie Torres — but with only 45% of the total vote, which was shy of the 50%-plus needed to declare victory.
Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder’s closest competitor, Rodenhurst, received 25% of the vote, so they will have a runoff in the General Election.
“The people of upper Puna should be able to afford to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, a future for our keiki,” said Rodenhurst, adding that he hopes to improve collaboration between the council, the community and the county.
The free-for-all for District 3 was a close fight Saturday evening, but former councilman Dennis “Fresh” Onishi seemed just barely on the winning side against his three challengers — Kelton Chang, Kaloa Robinson and Leomana Turalde — receiving about 52% of the vote.
Onishi said he has four projects he wants to pursue if elected: developing more Summer Fun events, streamlining the county’s construction permitting process, relocating the Waiakea Fire Station out of the tsunami zone, and eliminating the surcharge added to online vehicle registration renewals.
Onishi’s closest challenger is Chang, who had 21% of the vote.