Kaua'i mayor to stay in Islands
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Republican Mayor Maryanne Kusaka, who had considered a 2002 run for Rep. Patsy Mink's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, has announced she'll be staying home.
Advertiser library photo
Kusaka did not rule out a run for office within the state, but said family matters, including concern for her 90-year-old mother, preclude her from seeking a Washington office.
Mayor Maryanne Kusaka considered running for Congress but decided not to.
"While still weighing options for my political future, I have determined that I will not be running for national office in 2002," she said.
Kusaka, a retired teacher and former administrative assistant to late Mayor Tony Kunimura, won the mayor's seat in her first try for public office.
Since then, county offices have become nonpartisan, but Kusaka has retained her ties to the state Republican Party.
She is serving her second four-year term, which ends in December 2002. Under the Kaua'i County Charter, she cannot serve a third consecutive term.
A number of candidates have surfaced as possible contenders for the mayor's seat, including several members of the Kaua'i County Council.
Among them are Chairman Ron Kouchi, Bryan Baptiste, Randal Valenciano, Kaipo Asing and Gary Hooser.
