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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

WIDENER, Michaela B.

Party: Nonpartisan · Backing: Independent

Platform: Single mother, Beach House restaurant worker, and former Oklahoma government staffer who filed for Kauaʻi mayor in May 2026.

  • Single mother of two indigenous Hawaiian children residing in Koloa; works at the Beach House restaurant in Poipu — one of the few 2026 Kauaʻi mayoral candidates with a direct, day-to-day connection to the island's working-class service economy.
  • Has prior government experience, having served in a government role in Pawnee, Oklahoma — documented in The Garden Island's June 2, 2026 profile article 'Michaela Widener joins the mayoral race,' which is the primary sourcing record for her background.
  • Filed nomination papers on May 8, 2026, and formally joined the mayoral race as the sixth candidate on May 28, per county clerk records; The Garden Island profile (June 2, 2026) provided the first detailed public account of her candidacy rationale.
  • In the June 2026 Civil Beat candidate Q&A: described affordable housing for working families as her defining issue — as a service-industry worker and single mother, she has experienced the housing crisis firsthand and would prioritize policy changes that make home ownership and long-term rentals accessible to local working residents.
  • On tourism: believes the visitor economy must work for residents, not just employers; would push for stronger protections ensuring that vacation-rental conversions do not further shrink the supply of affordable housing available to service-industry workers and their families.
  • On sovereignty: as the mother of indigenous Hawaiian children, respects and supports recognition of Native Hawaiian cultural identity and rights; sees protecting the cultural and environmental heritage of Kauaʻi as inseparable from protecting the community she is raising her children in.

Editorial summary: Michaela Widener brought a rare working-class service-industry perspective to the 2026 Kauaʻi mayor's race. Her June 2026 Civil Beat Q&A filled in her platform: affordable housing for working families as a defining personal issue, tourism reform focused on protecting service workers' housing supply, and respect for Native Hawaiian cultural identity grounded in her role as mother of indigenous Hawaiian children.

Key issues: Working-family housing, Childcare & family support, Resident affordability, Service-industry community

Profile last reviewed: 2026-06-19

Other candidates in this race