Incumbents retained their seats in 16 of the 29 open council seats across the four counties. Voters elected Mel Rapozo as mayor of Kauaʻi County and reelected Richard Bissen Jr. to serve as Maui County mayor.
Councilmembers on Oʻahu and Maui will start their terms in January 2027 while Kauaʻi County councilmembers will start their two-year terms on Dec. 1, 2026 and Hawaiʻi County councilmembers are inaugurated on Dec. 7, 2026.
City and County of Honolulu
In the City and County of Honolulu, Tyler Dos Santos-Tam will return to City Council for another four years after leading Corey Morihara by 43.3 percentage points.
Trevor Ozawa previously represented Waikīkī and East Honolulu between 2015-2019 and led Tara Malia Gregory by 29.8 percentage points, as of Wednesday. Aloha State Daily reached out to Ozawa for comment.
Ozawa shared in a social media post at 3 p.m. Wednesday that he’s humbled and grateful for the trust of his constituents to represent District 4.
“There’s still a lot of work ahead of us, and I’m ready to get back to it,” he stated. “My commitment remains the same: to listen, to show up, and to work hard for the people of District 4.”
Council Chair Tommy Waters won 8,678 votes in the August primary but was not on the general election ballot after the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court found him ineligible to run.
Matt Weyer and Val Aquino Okimoto were reelected to represent Districts 2 and 8, respectively, after they ran unopposed primary.
County of Hawaiʻi
In Hawaiʻi County, incumbents Heather Kimball, Jennifer “Jenn” Kagiwada and Dennis “Fresh” Onishi won their races in the primary election to continue representing districts one, two and three. Manu Powers took home 58.6% of the vote in the primary to replace Rebecca Villegas in District Seven.
Lloyd Enriquez took home 89 more votes than Eileen OʻHara to replace Ashley Lehualani Kierkiewicz in representing District Four. Ikaika Rodenhurst led Shannon Lopeka Matson by 7.9 percentage points to replace Matt KanealiʻI-Kleinfleder in District Five. Zed Kaʻapana Aki had 56 votes more than Guy Enriques to replace Michelle Galimba to represent Ka’u.
Current Council Chair Holeka Goro Inaba and incumbent James Hustace ran unopposed.
County of Kauaʻi
Kauaʻi voters elected Mel Rapozo to serve as mayor. Rapozo succeeds Derek Kawakami won the race for Hawaiʻi lieutenant governor. Rapozo earned 56.5% of the vote and his opponent, Bernard Carvalho Jr. took home 37.4% of the vote.
Rapozo told ASD on Wednesday that he’s excited and looking forward to getting to work.
Rapozo said mahalo to the voters on Kauaʻi who made their voices heard in the election, and said that he wants to give the community the opportunity to participate in local government throughout the year to increase voter turnout.
Hurricane Lowell brought heavy winds, rain and flooding to the Islands on Sept. 7 and 8 while a fire at the Kāpule Building at the Līhu‘e Civic Center on Sept. 9 impacted city services.
“We got to get our services back up to 100% for our constituents,” he said.
He plans to establish working groups of local experts to address critical infrastructure, including upgrading the wastewater system and identifying a new landfill site, and affordable housing.
“I think there’s a lot of expertise right here locally that I want to tap into as to possible solutions that the administration can take,” he said.
Once in office, Rapozo plans to establish his cabinet and meet with Kauaʻi County councilmembers to identify and discuss shared goals and priorities.
Carvalho, who served as mayor of Kauaʻi from 2008-2018, congratulated Rapozo on his win in a social media post around 10 a.m. Wednesday and said he plans to continue serving his community.
“As we move forward, I ask that we put aside our difference, come together as one ʻohana, and remember that we all share the same home and the same hope for a better tomorrow,” he stated in the social media post.
Kauaʻi County Council saw the biggest shift in its members, with Rapozo and Carvalho leaving the council to run for mayor. Incumbents Fern Avenue Holland, Arryl Kaneshiro and Addison Bulosan remain on the council with Todd R. Ozaki, Michelle Kaleiohi Correa, Dane Smith and Paul Noboru Applegate joining them.
Holland told ASD on Wednesday that she was humbled and thankful to come in No. 1 out of the 14 council candidates. She earned 12,425 in Tuesday’s election.
“As the person who rejected PAC donations, corporate money and union donations, even of those that endorsed me, I didn’t really have the opportunity to campaign, so it just shows the work that I’ve been doing speaks for itself and that the community appreciates and sees how hard I’ve worked in this position,” she said.
Holland said that she has a “wonderful relationship” with Mayor-elect Rapozo and looks forward to addressing the landfill and solid waste issues, infrastructure and wastewater, solutions to the houseless problem and improving parks and public spaces in her second term.
While the full council will decide its next leadership, Holland said that she plans to support Kaneshiro for chair and hopes to work alongside him as vice chair.
County of Maui
Voters reelected Richard T. Bissen Jr. to serve as the mayor of Maui. Bissen took home 54.8% of the vote compared to Yuki Lei Kashiwa Sugimura 42.6%. ASD reached out to Bissen for comment.
Sugimura thanked her volunteers, supporters, friends and family in a post on social media around 11 a.m. Wednesday and encouraged her supporters to “keep working together to nurture and care for the communities we love.”
Incumbents Shane Sinenci and Tamara Akiki Maile Paltin were reelected to hold the county seats for the East Maui and West Maui residency areas. Marvin Moniz defeated Ashley Awakea Lindsey to replace Council Chair Alice Lee in the Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu residency area. Kauanoe Batangan, who was appointed to the county seat for the Kahului area after Tasha Kama died in October 2025, will remain on the council after winning against Carol Lee Kamekona. Incumbent Tom Cook lost his seat for the South Maui residency area to Kelly Takaya King. Incumbent Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins will continue to hold the seat for the Makawao-Haiku-Paia residency area. Bobby Pahia will replace Sugimura’s seat in the Upcountry Maui area after she left the council to run for mayor against Bissen.
Incumbents Gabe Johnson and Keani Rawlins-Fernandez ran unopposed to represent Lanaʻi and Molokai, respectively.
Haley Lehman can be reached at haley@alohastatedaily.com.
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