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Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami is optimistic about the island's public health and economic recovery

Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami delivers his 2022 State of the County address on March 14, 2022.
Facebook/County of Kauaʻi
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County of Kauaʻi
Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami delivers his 2022 State of the County address on March 14, 2022.

This week and next, The Conversation is connecting with mayors across the state. We talked to Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth earlier in the week and recently caught up with Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami. He shared the latest about energy on the Garden Isle amid rising gas prices, the return of tourism, and this new phase of the pandemic.

Kawakami says tourism on the island has picked up faster than the local government expected.

He says that’s been good for local businesses, but adds that everyone is in a transition period when it comes to wearing masks and other behavior. Visitors can also learn from his pandemic experience, Kawakami says.

“I just went to a local grocery store yesterday, walked up without a mask and looked in — saw everybody wearing a mask — so guess what I did? I put my mask on," Kawakami said. "Really, that’s just what it’s about. It’s just about being courteous. You wouldn’t walk into somebody’s house with your shoes on."

"I tell tourists all the time that if they want to go along to get along, they should do what I do when I travel. I watch what the locals do. I walk where they walk. I wait in line. I wait patiently. I try to mimic the behavior of the people that are actually from that place. Just so I don’t stick out. But more so, it’s just respectful, right? I mean, respect is such a huge thing on Kauaʻi — and in Hawaiʻi in general," he said.

He says Kauaʻi was able to weather the COVID variants because it prioritized vaccinating the vulnerable population and essential workers before opening back up to tourism.

"Of course, one loss of life is, to a family, it's devastating. And we hope to avoid that. But I think that our community is doing the right thing," Kawakami said.

Kawakami says that Kauaʻi County officials and the hospitality industry are doing well with what is a new job for them — collecting hotel room taxes.

"Our Finance Director Reiko Matsuyama, she's a go-getter, she figured it all out. And she herself is oftentimes on the phone, walking some of the hotels and resorts through the process," Kawakami said.

The mayor says without those funds, the county would have a “huge puka in the budget.”

"It's a reminder to everyone that everything that we spend as far as county and government services, whether it's your public schools or roads, bridge repairs, wastewater systems, the bus — they're all in part due to a healthy visitor industry economy happening," the mayor said.

This interview aired on The Conversation on March 30, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.

Catherine Cruz is the host of The Conversation. Originally from Guam, she spent more than 30 years at KITV, covering beats from government to education. Contact her at ccruz@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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