The primary election is coming up in a few weeks. One of the most important races is for lieutenant governor — the second-highest-ranking elected office in the state.
Della Au Belatti is changing plans. She was going to spend a recent Sunday handing out campaign flyers at a farmers' market. The leaflets she had with her said she's running for Congress. That's a problem since she's now running for lieutenant governor.
So now she's at Safeway instead to pick up ingredients for bread she bakes and hands out to voters.
Last year, Belatti launched a congressional primary challenge to unseat Ed Case. But then Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said she was a target of a bribery investigation.
Kauaʻi's mayor, Derek Kawakami, jumped into the race for lieutenant governor, and Luke pulled out. It looked like Kawakami would glide into the job without facing meaningful competition. However, then Bellati joined the race.
A full text version of this story will be available later today.
Next week, HPR's Audrey McAvoy will bring us a report on outgoing Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami as he campaigns for lieutenant governor. You can find more election coverage, here.
