Kaua‘i council race preliminary results: Bulosan in

LIHU‘E — In the county council race, voters mainly favored the status quo.

Of the seven candidates leading in the first printout of results, six are either incumbents or former county council members.

The top seven finishers are incumbent Luke Evslin with (8,078 votes, 7.9 percent), incumbent Bernard Carvalho (7,630 7.5 percent), former council member Mel Rapozo (6,877, 6.8 percent), Dr. Addison Bulosan (6,781, 6.7 percent), incumbent KipuKai Kuali‘i (6,763, 6.6 percent) former council member Ross Kagawa (6,406, 6.3 percent), and council member Felicia Cowden (6,027, 5.9 percent), according to preliminary results.

Outside of the top seven by less than 300 votes is incumbent Billy DeCosta (5,753, 5.6 percent).

Bulosan, a chiropractor and community leader, came a couple thousand votes away from grabbing a seat in the 2020 election.

Bulosan has served as the president of the Rice Street Business Association, vice president of Lihu‘e Business Association, and a board member on the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce, Hawai‘i Foodbank – Kaua‘i, Leadership Kaua‘i, Hale ‘Opi‘o Kaua‘i, and the Kaua‘i Food Hub.

“This journey can take a toll with all the sacrifices but with the love and support of the community, family, and friends, I know we are moving into the right direction,” said Bulosan.

Bulosan was aided by an infusion of funding from Be Change Now, a union-affiliated Political Action Committee whose website lists its goals as “building affordable housing, investing in our infrastructure, taking on the climate crisis, and rejecting the culture of corruption.”

Be Change Now spent more than $53,000 on Bulosan’s race, more than any single Kaua‘i County Council candidate, and more than double what Bulosan’s personal campaign spent.

It remains unclear who has taken the seventh spot.

“I am grateful to the voters and cautiously optimistic to be successful in the final vote,” said Cowden.

Final results will be released Wednesday.