Kaua'i County Parks Director Bernard Carvalho Jr. and Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura appear headed for a Nov. 4 runoff.

Carvalho was safely in front after partial results yesterday for the Kaua'i mayor's race, while Yukimura, who was mayor of Kaua'i 1988-1994 and has served 14 years on the Council, had a strong lead over the third-place finisher, county councilman Mel Rapozo.

The top two candidates will face off in the general election.

"Our biggest difference is leadership style," Carvalho said of himself and Yukimura.

"We bring a more collaborative type of leadership," Carvalho said. "We continue to promote that and that's what the people want."

"We want to keep our campaign clean, safe and healthy as we move toward the general against Ms. Yukimura," he said.

Yukimura said she was "full of gratitude to the people who support me and the people who share my dream for a better Kaua'i, even in the midst of uncertainty."

Looking at the economic downturn and other negative news, Yukimura said, "There's always opportunity in crisis. Our job is to look for that."

Both Yukimura and Carvalho said they will seek Rapozo's endorsement.

"I think it's over. I concede," Rapozo said. "I'm pleased with what we did and pleased with what we accomplished. We fell short and I congratulate the victorious candidates. We all ran clean campaigns."

Meanwhile, the top 14 vote-getters among 22 Kaua'i County Council candidates proceed to the Nov. 4 election, when the top seven will be elected.

Incumbents Bill "Kaipo" Asing, Tim Bynum, Jay Furfaro, Ron Kouchi and Daryl Kaneshiro were among the top vote-getters.

Others to likely appear on the Nov. 4 ballot are: Dickie Chang, Lani Kawahara, Derek Kawakami, KipuKai Kuali'i, Christobel Kealoha, Ron Agor, George Thronas Jr., Rhoda Libre and Bruce Pleas. John Hoff and Linda Pasadava ranked 15th and 16th in preliminary vote totals.

Each of the three front-runners for mayor had planned to run in 2010. But former Mayor Bryan Baptiste's June 22 death triggered a special election to fill the final two years of his term.

Some have called Carvalho the "heir apparent" for the mayor's job, since he was being talked up by his friend Baptiste.

Carvalho pulled in the most campaign contributions for the July 1-Sept. 5 period, as reported on the state Campaign Finance Commission Web site. He collected $132,562 and spent $85,685 during that period. Yukimura collected $60,551 and spent $61,247 since July.

Rapozo collected $59,089 and spent $31,629 during the period.

Carvalho, 46, has emphasized that he wants to be a consensus-builder like his mentor Baptiste. "I want to honor the mayor's projects and fulfill his legacy. But I do have my own thoughts and ideas," he said.

Carvalho, who has never held an elected office, says his 17 years of county civil service work in recreation programs, topped with the past six years in the Baptiste administration, give him the knowledge of how to get things done in Kaua'i County government.

As a department head, Carvalho has been in charge of Baptiste's affordable housing initiatives, the ongoing East Kaua'i walking and biking path, cooperative cleanups at Hanama'ulu and Black Pot county beach parks, and county support for new homeless shelters.

Yukimura's experience is her calling card. Supporters see the 58-year-old attorney as tireless in giving back to the community. Detractors complained she didn't do enough after Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and can have a tendency to micromanage. Others claim she is anti-growth.

Yukimura's campaign has focused on her accomplishments, including starting the Kaua'i Bus service and the Sunshine farmers markets, getting the county through the Iniki cleanup, and computerizing county accounting "from scratch."