Bill “Kaipo” Asing’s unanimous selection to serve as interim mayor for Kauai County was no surprise at the special Council meeting yesterday.

The verbal sparring between one mayoral candidate and the majority of the Council, however, threw everyone off balance.

“The political season has begun,” Councilman Tim Bynum observed later.

Asing, chairman of the Council and a 24-year veteran of the chamber, was unanimously selected to replace Mayor Bryan Baptiste, who died last month of a heart attack. He will serve until Dec. 1, after a new mayor is selected in elections this fall.

Announcing their candidacy for the mayor’s job yesterday were former Mayor and Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, Councilman Mel Rapozo and Bernard Carvalho, campaign manager for Baptiste and director of the county Department of Parks and Recreation.

“My intention is to run for election,” Yukimura said before the Council vote, then pressed Asing to clarify his intentions regarding the office.

“I feel it would be inappropriate” to take the interim mayor job “in the interest of fairness,” she said, suggesting that the same should hold true for Asing.

Asing immediately took offense.

“It’s almost like my integrity is at stake,” Asing said. “I’m not pleased at the question you have posed. … It’s not really fair.”

And he received support from a number of councilmembers.

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(Source: Tom Finnegan, Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

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