LIHU'E, Kaua'i — As the home stretch to the Nov. 4 elections approaches, mayoral candidates Bernard Carvalho and JoAnn Yukimura continue to court Kaua'i voters.

Only 1,771 votes separated front-runner Carvalho from Yukimura in the primary, when a total of 17,592 votes were cast for all four candidates.

With more voters typically coming out for the general election, anything could happen, observers say.

Both Carvalho, who got 7,144 votes in the primary, and Yukimura, who got 5,374, said they are talking with third-place finisher Mel Rapozo, who received 4,360 votes.

"Obviously the big thing is going to be Mel's vote, where it goes," said Dan Boylan, a University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu history professor, who moderated a mayoral debate in September.

Whether or not Rapozo endorses one of the finalists, "I could see his people going either way. I think that vote could split right down the middle," Boylan said.

Rapozo hasn't returned The Advertiser's calls seeking comment.

From the race's outset in July, triggered by the unexpected death of Mayor Bryan Baptiste in June, Yukimura has touted her experience as Kaua'i mayor (1988-1994) and as a county council member (14 of the past 30 years). The person elected Nov. 4 will serve two years, the remainder of Baptiste's term.

Many of the hot-button topics facing the next mayor — recycling, picking a site for a landfill, managing growth, increasing bus service, supporting local farmers and propping up the economy — are things Yukimura handled when she was mayor before, a period that included Kaua'i's recovery from Hurricane Iniki.

"Talk is easy," Yukimura says, commenting that Carvalho is "starting to sound a lot like me" in some of his environmentally friendly proposals. "Effective action is not as easy."

"People want problems to be solved," Yukimura said. "Whether it's recycling or shoreline protection, they want goals to be achieved."

Carvalho counters that as head of the former Office of Community Affairs, with a budget of $20 million and about 200 employees; then as director of the newly created parks department, with a $17 million budget and about 140 employees, he has adequate management experience to run the county.

Carvalho's work in those appointed positions is the culmination of his 23 years working for the county, mostly in parks and recreation before his Cabinet-level posts. He took a leave of absence from his parks director's job to run for mayor.

Kaua'i County's operating budget is $157.9 million. The county government has 1,169 employees.

"We have made a concerted effort to focus our campaign on what I have to offer the people of Kaua'i as mayor," Carvalho told The Advertiser. "My focus will continue to be to put forward my vision, plans and qualifications and let the voters decide who is best qualified to lead. I believe that's what they expect and deserve."

IT'S THE ECONOMY

Kaua'i's small-town plantation lifestyle where "everybody knew everybody" has morphed into a mixed community of kama'aina of all economic levels and newcomers who tend to be well off.

In recent years, with a building boom in upscale homes and resort properties, Kaua'i real estate values have risen, pumping money into the county's economy.

The growth has stretched the resources of working people to meet basic food and shelter needs, and has stretched the ability of county infrastructure to keep up with development.

And that was before the national and local economies slowed down, oil prices rose and the Wall Street lending crisis loomed.

Carvalho calls the convergence of circumstances "an economic tsunami" that affects Kaua'i residents and government.

"You, the people, have had to adjust to these challenges. You don't have the luxury of not paying your bills," Carvalho said at an Oct. 13 debate with Yukimura. "We at the county must make the same kind of adjustments."

Carvalho pledged to "do everything in my power to preserve the rank-and-file workforce." He said if elected, he will not accept the mayor's $6,000 a year car allowance and will cancel planned mayoral and department head raises scheduled for July 2009, an estimated savings of $300,000.

Carvalho also said he would restrict interisland and Mainland travel, examine county take-home vehicle and cell-phone use and require energy use reductions of each department. He didn't have cost-savings estimates for those items last week.

Carvalho also emphatically said he would not cut any service programs for youth or elders.

Yukimura cautions that she won't make promises about county jobs or programs until she's thoroughly reviewed revised revenue estimates, urgent needs (such as solid-waste treatment or sewers), basic budget items, energy costs, and needed initiatives such as expansion of bus service.

Asked for a response to Carvalho's cost-cutting proposals, Yukimura told The Advertiser: "They all seem pretty small compared to the $9 million to $50 million that could have been saved if we had implemented the 'reduce, re-use, recycle' solid-waste plan that my administration proposed, and the County Council approved, back in 1994. We could have also saved a lot more money by siting a new landfill earlier.

"For the department heads that are doing excellent work, we should grant them the raises, because they are worth their weight in gold and will save the county a lot more money than their raises by managing their departments well," Yukimura said.

LOVING KAUA'I

"For the past 30 years, JoAnn has been a very dedicated public servant. She's done a lot for Kaua'i," said supporter Gerald Hirata, who has known Yukimura since high school.

"Today Kaua'i is in the balance. There are many issues we face that will determine what this island will be like in two, five, or 10 years," said Hirata. "I think we need visionary leadership for land and tax reforms, housing and growth issues, solid waste management, and how we build a community and how we work together."

Carvalho supporter Fred Levinthol of Kapa'a says he can't shake his image of Yukimura as a "professional activist."

It's OK with Levinthol if Yukimura and others objected to the Hawaii Superferry coming to Kaua'i without having done an environmental impact statement.

But Levinthol said he thinks Yukimura, as an elected leader, should have been able to stop people from pounding on cars coming off the ferry or swearing at the governor at meetings. "I hold her responsible," he said.

Carvalho, Levinthol said, "is a hard worker. He's well liked by the people who work for him. And he talks to anybody."