{"id":529758,"date":"2026-03-18T00:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T00:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/529758\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T00:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T00:30:10","slug":"breaking-news-kaua%ca%bbi-mayor-kawakami-announces-his-run-for-hawai%ca%bbi-lieutenant-governor-big-island-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/529758\/","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS: Kaua\u02bbi Mayor Kawakami announces his run for Hawai\u02bbi lieutenant governor : Big Island Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\"\"<\/a>Kaua\u02bbi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami announced he is running for lieutenant governor of Hawai\u02bbi with his wife, Monica, and daughter, Hailee, by his side at Gaylord\u2019s restaurant in LIhue on March 17, 2026. (Xiomara Yamileth\/Kaua\u02bbi Now)<\/p>\n

Kaua\u02bbi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami announced during an emotional press conference on Tuesday morning that he is running for lieutenant governor of Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis morning I woke up and I was just a ball of nerves,\u201d the 49-year-old Kawakami said at Gaylord\u02bbs, a restaurant in L\u012bhu\u02bbe.<\/p>\n

Kawakami will try to unseat Sylvia Luke in August in the Democratic primary. <\/p>\n

During his speech, Kawakami highlighted his administration\u2019s seven-year record and called for unity across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis race is about who we are running for \u2014 our home, our people and the future of Hawai\u02bbi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n

Kawakami, who has served as the island\u2019s 11th mayor since Dec. 3, 2018, can not run again due to term limits. His second and final term ends in December.<\/p>\n

Kawakami said Tuesday his decision to run for lieutenant governor, the second highest position in the state, is rooted in a belief that government should serve residents, pointing to efforts to improve infrastructure, expand affordable housing and modernize county services. <\/p>\n

\"\"Kaua\u02bbi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami announced he is running for lieutenant governor with supporters at his side at Gaylord\u2019s restaurant in LIhue on March 17, 2026. (Xiomara Yamileth\/Kaua\u02bbi Now)<\/p>\n

He cited initiatives such as reducing wait times at the Department of Motor Vehicles and partnering with the private sector to deliver lower-cost housing, including single-family homes priced below $500,000 at the Lima Ola development. <\/p>\n

He also pointed to policies aimed at easing the burden on local residents, including shifting more financial responsibility to visitors and investing in public spaces and services for k\u016bpuna and veterans.<\/p>\n

Dan Giovanni is running Kawakami\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s merciless because he\u2019s got me going on a plane and we\u2019re hitting that campaign trail from today,\u201d Kawakami said. \u201cAnd so I\u2019m going to just need your understanding. I will always be here, but we\u2019ve got to race. So we\u2019ve got to win.<\/p>\n

At times becoming teary eyed, Kawakami spoke about his late parents and his desire to inspire young people from small communities, saying his campaign would focus on restoring trust in government and bringing people together. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we are at our bottom and when we are faced with disasters, this island has something special,\u201d Kawakami said. \u201cIt makes my job as mayor so easy because our spirit is always to take care of one another. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t let politics, we don\u2019t let personal, deeply-held beliefs divide us. And I really believe that on this campaign, we can start to heal people because there\u2019s a lot of healing that needs to go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kawakami already has amassed a campaign war chest<\/a> that has raised nearly $400,000 with $140,000 in expenditures, according to the latest State of Hawai\u02bbi Campaign Spending Commission Disclosure report ending Dec. 31, 2025.<\/p>\n

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n

Following the announcement, Kawakami\u2019s wife Monica Kawakami said the moment was both overwhelming and deeply meaningful for their family. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited,\u201d she said. \u201cThis was so unexpected, but a dream of his forever, so I\u2019m just happy to be able to support him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking each day as it comes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the couple chose the announcement location at Gaylord\u2019s because of its personal significance, describing it as a place where they have spent time celebrating family milestones. <\/p>\n

She also thanked the Kaua\u02bbi community for its continued support. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so grateful for the love and support they\u2019ve shown us throughout the years,\u201d she said. \u201cWe hope to make them proud, and we\u2019re going to work very, very hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kawakami had previous served on the Kaua\u02bbi County Council from 2008 to 2011 and 2016-2018. In between, he served as a member of the Hawai\u02bbi House of Representatives from April 4, 2011 to Nov. 8, 2016.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kaua\u02bbi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami attends Mayor Kimo Alameda\u2019s State of Hawai\u02bbi County address on Feb. 12, 2026. (Kelsey Walling\/Big Island Now) <\/p>\n

Three candidates currently have filed to run for Kaua\u02bbi mayor<\/a>: Kauai\u02bbi County Council chairman Mel Rapozo, Kaua\u02bbi County Councilmember Felicia Cowden and former Kaua\u02bbi mayor and current councilmember Bernard Carvalho Jr.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kawakami gave his last State of the County address<\/a> on March 11, thanking the Garden Island community for its support over the past seven years and highlighting progress in housing, infrastructure and public safety during his administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kaua\u02bbi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami announced he is running for lieutenant governor of Hawai\u02bbi with his wife, Monica,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,28081,13961,11639,451,90309,57935,238170,3,34180,85279,238189,452,453],"class_list":["post-529758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-democratic","tag-election","tag-hawaii","tag-headlines","tag-kauai","tag-lieutenant-governor","tag-mayor-derek-kawakami","tag-news","tag-primary","tag-sylvia-luke","tag-term-limited","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}