Two experienced county councilmen will take over as mayors of Kauai and Maui after comfortable victories in Tuesday’s general election.

Derek Kawakami, a Kauai County Council member, beat Council Chairman Mel Rapozo. On Maui, former councilman Mike Victorino beat current Councilwoman Elle Cochran.

The jobs of mayor for Kauai and Maui counties were up for grabs because the current leaders — Alan Arakawa on Maui and Bernard Carvalho Jr. on Kauai — are reaching term limits after finishing two consecutive four-year terms.

Arakawa tried to win a seat on the Maui County Council, but lost by a wide margin Tuesday. Carvalho sought to become lieutenant governor but finished in third place among Democrats behind state Sens. Josh Green and Jill Tokuda in the August primary election.

Both new mayors bring considerable experience from time on the two neighbor island county councils.

Kawakami served on the Kauai County Council from 2008 to mid-2011, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie to the state House of Representatives. He returned to the County Council in 2016.

Victorino, an insurance company executive and father to recently retired professional baseball star Shane Victorino, spent 10 years on the Maui County Council, hitting the term limit in 2016.

Races for Council seats in the three neighbor island counties also were decided Tuesday.

Maui races

In races for the nine- member Maui County Council, the winners were Shane Sinenci (East Maui), Tamara Paltin (West Maui), Alice Lee (Wailuku), Natalie Kama (Kahului), Kelly King (South Maui), Mike Molina (Makawao-Haiku-Paia), Yuki Lei Sugimura (Upcountry), Riki Hokama (Lanai) and Keani Rawlins-Fernandez (Molokai).

Four winners — King, Sugimura, Hokama and Crivello — are incumbents; two — Molina and Lee, who beat incumbent Alika Atay — are former longtime Council members.

Atay had a troubled year in office, with his executive assistant banned from some state and county offices for abusive behavior and the councilman fined by the state Campaign Spending Commission, according to Maui News reports.

Kauai races

In the Kauai County Council race, a field of 14 contenders vied for seven islandwide seats. The top vote-getters included four incumbents: Arryl Kaneshiro, Mason Chock, Ross Kagawa and Arthur Brun. They will be joined by Luke Evslin, KipuKai Kualii and Felicia Cowden.

Hawaii island races

All but one race for the nine-member Council had either been decided in the primary election or were not contested. In the one open race, Rebecca Villegas beat Kelly Drysdale to represent parts of North and South Kona.

For full Honolulu Star-Advertiser coverage of the 2018 general election, go to 808ne.ws/SA2018VOTE.