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KAUAI MAYOR

About the 2026 Kauaʻi Mayoral Race — Open Seat

The 2026 Kauaʻi mayoral race is an open seat: incumbent Mayor Derek Kawakami is term-limited after serving two full terms (2018–2026) and cannot seek re-election. That makes this the first truly open mayoral contest on Kauaʻi in eight years, with no incumbent advantage on the ballot. As of the May 2026 official snapshot, these candidates filed for the race: Mel Rapozo, Bernard Carvalho Jr., Felicia Cowden, Megeso-William Denis, Laura Andaya-Lindsey, and Michaela B. Widener. Housing affordability is a prominent issue across the race — Kauaʻi median home prices have surpassed $900,000. Short-term rental (STR) enforcement, county permitting reform, tourism management, and infrastructure investment are among the policy areas candidates have addressed in filing and campaign coverage. Voters should consult candidate websites, KKCR Elections forum recordings, and local news for verifiable stances from each candidate.

Open seat — no incumbent running.

Primary date: 2026-08-08

COWDEN, Felicia E.

Party: Nonpartisan · Backing: Independent

Platform: Four-term council member and current committee chair; running for mayor on a People-First, servant-leadership platform.

  • Has served on the Kauaʻi County Council since 2018 (four terms); current Chair of the Public Safety & Human Services Committee and Vice-Chair of Public Works & Veterans Services. Entered the 2026 mayoral race on March 8, 2026.
  • On housing: would continue county housing villages in Eleele, Waimea, Kilauea, and Puhi (85 developable acres purchased in Puhi); create temporary safety zones to humanely move unhoused residents off sidewalks; restructure taxation on long-term market-rate rentals to make them more affordable for working families.
  • Supports employer-owned workforce living structures as an alternative to the consumption of residential housing by temporary workers, and continued enforcement against unpermitted vacation rentals redirecting units back to the residential market.
  • Prioritizes upgrading county infrastructure and improving government transparency and accountability as explicit mayoral pillars — running as an independent voice with a servant-leadership style.
  • Long-standing council voice for tighter limits on transient vacation rentals (TVRs) and short-term rentals to protect resident housing supply; supports environmental stewardship and economic development as parallel mayoral priorities.
  • In the June 2026 Civil Beat candidate Q&A: described tourism as needing a fundamental rebalancing — would cap new TVR permits, strengthen enforcement of existing vacation-rental rules, and redirect units back to the long-term residential market; supports exploring a visitor green-fee at the county level to fund environmental and infrastructure costs of tourism.
  • On sovereignty: supports Native Hawaiian land rights and self-determination as foundational to Kauaʻi's future; her environmental stewardship platform explicitly incorporates ʻāina-based values and respect for Hawaiian cultural heritage and resource-management traditions.

Editorial summary: Felicia Cowden's four council terms and 2026 mayor campaign, documented at feliciacowden.com, in The Garden Island and Kauaʻi Now, and in her June 2026 Civil Beat Q&A, reflect a people-first, servant-leader approach with detailed housing policy commitments — county village projects, rental tax restructuring, employer workforce housing, TVR enforcement — alongside an explicit call for rebalancing the visitor economy through new permit caps and a county visitor green-fee.

Key issues: Affordable housing, Short-term rental enforcement, Workforce housing, Government transparency, Environmental stewardship

Website: https://FeliciaCowden.com

Profile last reviewed: 2026-06-19

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