An incoming County Council member in West Hawaii hopes to increase support to Kohala after one of the Big Island’s sole election shake-ups Tuesday.
Councilwoman Cindy Evans was ousted Tuesday by opponent James Hustace. Hustace, who has served as president of the Waimea Community Association for the past four years, received 58% of the vote, beating Evans’ 42%.
After the swearing-in ceremony on Dec. 2, Hustace will represent Council District 9, which includes Kohala and portions of Waimea.
Hustace told the Tribune- Herald on Wednesday that his opponent ran a good race, but said voters in his district “are looking for leaders who are listening to the wishes of the community.”
“The district has a bunch of different communities with different concerns,” Hustace said. “In places like Waikoloa, you have people who are worried about roads out of the village in case of a fire. And then in Waimea, people are concerned about water … which needs to be at the forefront of our discussions, not just to support housing, but for agricultural production.”
At the same time, Hustace said, District 9 residents also are concerned about cultural and historic preservation of the many wahi pana throughout West and North Hawaii.
Hustace said his first priorities after taking the seat will be to build up professional relationships with his fellow Council members and the county’s new department heads. He will need that support, he said, to dedicate county resources toward large-scale infrastructure projects in the area, including cesspool conversions and new roads for the rural district.
Evans was gracious in defeat, saying Hustace ran “a really traditional, hard race.” She said that had she been elected, her priorities for the district also would have included cesspool conversion and roads, but also agriculture and developing affordable workforce housing.
After stepping down, Evans said, she will continue volunteer work at domestic violence support nonprofit Malama Pono Kohala while striving to secure better roads for her district as a constituent.
On the other side of the island, the only other Council seat up for contention Tuesday stayed with the incumbent.
Puna Council member Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder, with 57% of the vote, defeated challenger Ikaika Rodenhurst.
Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder said he was humbled by his constituents’ faith in him, saying that the district has not had a Council member remain in office for four consecutive terms — which is the limit — for a long time.
“I hope it’s because of what we’ve done,” Kaneali‘i- Kleinfelder said, touting efforts to improve roads in the district such as shoulder repairs and repaving on Stainback Highway to alleviate traffic congestion.
When his final term begins in December, Kaneali‘i- Kleinfelder hopes to make sure the county is focused on wrapping up long-developing projects for Puna such as a new mass transit hub in Pahoa and a study of potential locations for a new alternate route out of the area.
Rodenhurst, who briefly served as the county’s public works director from 2021 to 2022, said he will continue to work in the private sector but will do whatever he can as a citizen to help improve the county’s building permit process.
The other seven seats on the County Council were decided in the primary election.
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