After a trickle down of vacancies, the Kauaʻi County Council voted in former Councilmember Ross Kagawa to round out the seven-person body.
Kagawa replaces Luke Evslin, who Gov. Josh Green appointed to represent House District 16 in the state House of Representatives earlier this month.
Evslin took over the seat from former Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, who was appointed to a deputy director position at the Department of Transportation airport’s division.
Kagawa, who was the eighth highest vote-getter in the 2022 general election, was primarily selected for that reason — with fellow members also noting his longstanding history with the council.
Kagawa returns to the council after reaching an eight-year term limit in 2020.
In a Wednesday interview, Kagawa said inflation, cost of living and opala are issues he'd like to tackle with the council.
"We still have the landfill issues," Kagawa said. "Right now, as we speak, I think they're expanding Kekaha Landfill both vertically and horizontally. It's very concerning."
