Longtime Kauai County Council chairman Mel Rapozo announced Friday that he is entering the race for mayor of Kauai.

“We are in challenging times, not just here on Kauai but throughout our nation, and it will take leadership that listens and strength of character to move the County of Kauai and Niihau forward,” Rapozo told a gathering of family, friends and supporters at the Kauai Museum.

Rapozo was first elected to the Kauai County Council in 2002 and has served on seven of the last eight councils.

He has previously served as the council’s vice chairman and chairman of the Energy and Public Safety Committee, Public Works Committee, Public Safety and Environmental Services Committee, and Environmental Services/Public Safety/Community Assistance Committee. He also served as president and secretary of the Hawaii State Association of Counties.

A graduate of Kauai High School, Florida Metropolitan University and Everest University, Rapozo is the owner and operator of M&P Legal Support Services and runs a private investigation agency. Rapozo is also a 21-year veteran of the Hawaii Air National Guard and a former Kauai Police Department officer.

2 killed in Kona crash identified

Hawaii island officials have identified the driver and passenger who died in a crash in Kona on May 17.

The operator of the 1998 Toyota 4Runner was 33-year-old Hector Alfredo Barrientos Vigil. His passenger was Obdulio Eliseo Garcia Orellano, also 33.

Both were from Captain Cook.

Autopsies conducted on May 19 determined that the men died from injuries sustained in the accident. At the time of the autopsies, positive identification of the men was pending the results of DNA identification, which the county received July 31, Hawaii County police said by email.