Yagong enters mayoral race

BY NANCY COOK LAUER

WEST HAWAII TODAY

ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com

HONOKAA — If Dominic Yagong had a slogan in his campaign for mayor, it would likely be, “Grr. How you gonna pay for it?”

That’s the caption of a political cartoon that ran last year, depicting Yagong as a guard dog protecting taxpayer money. Yagong enthusiastically reflected on that cartoon Saturday, as, surrounded by his family at his Honokaa home, he announced he would challenge Mayor Billy Kenoi for the county’s top elected office.

Yagong, 52, currently Hawaii County Council chairman, said he would finish out his council term that ends in December. He is, however, resigning from his day job as a regional manager for a grocery chain to give himself time to campaign.

He’ll face off against Kenoi, and whoever else jumps into the nonpartisan mayoral race, in the Aug. 11 primary.

“So many people are not happy with the way government is being run,” Yagong said, citing his 30 years in business. “It’s time government is run like a business. … We need to change the culture … to be that guard dog .. to be that guard dog right at the top.”

Yagong pledged no property tax increases, especially not before government is slimmed down and waste eliminated. He’d target overtime, county vehicles and cellphones right off the bat, and he’d take a hard look at contracts and change orders, he said. He’d also seek revenue opportunities through public-private partnerships and look into building a world-class amphitheater to lure big events to the Big Island.

“We need to have vision here,” Yagong said. “We need to expand our economy.”

He noted his Honokaa residence is the “gateway between East and West Hawaii,” almost equidistant between Hilo and Kona. That will make it easier to represent the entire county, he said, although, if elected, his primary office will be in Hilo.

Yagong acknowledges he’ll have a tough fight against an incumbent mayor, especially in the campaign fundraising arena. Kenoi had already raised $33,525, and Yagong had raised nothing, by July 1, the most recent information available. Reports for the remainder of 2011 are due to the state Campaign Spending Commission by Jan. 31.

Kenoi said after Yagong’s announcement that he’s looking forward to a “spirited” but clean campaign. He said the announcement won’t change the way the administration evaluates Yagong’s legislation in the coming year.

“It doesn’t change how we do what we do and how we conduct ourselves,” Kenoi said. “I welcome Mr. Yagong into the race. We’re going to work very hard; we’re going to go to the people of the county and stand on our record of achievement.”

Kenoi has consistently cut the size and cost of government during his three years in office, although critics contend he hasn’t done enough.

But the mayor, with the council majority’s blessing, riled many Kona and Kohala residents when he raised property taxes in 2010, targeting part-time homes and second residences not covered by the homeowner exemption — of which 82 percent were in the four council districts covering West Hawaii. It’s unlikely there will be tax hikes this election year, despite similarly grim budget news expected when the budget is released this spring.

This isn’t Yagong’s first run against an incumbent mayor. In 2004, he challenged then-Mayor Harry Kim, where he lost with 27 percent of the vote in a low-budget contest that some called the most low-key mayoral race in county history. Kim’s name has resurfaced as a possible candidate this year, too, but he couldn’t be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.

Yagong acknowledges union support is likely to go to his opponent, although he said many rank-and-file workers have expressed support, even if the union leadership hasn’t. Yagong said the culture of entitlement that permeates much of county government must change, or the county will not be able to afford retirement for its workers. He said many workers realize that, and it was brought closer to home when the current administration had to postpone $20 million in payments to the system in order to balance its budget this year.

“There are a lot of good people out there; there are great county workers,” he said. “But just like in the private sector, there are some who aren’t.”