Bryan J. Baptiste (October 15, 1955 – June 22, 2008) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the County of Kauai in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

from 2002 until his death.

Early life

Baptiste was born in

Lihue Lihue or Līhue is an unincorporated community, census-designated place (CDP) and the county seat of Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. Lihue (pronounced ) is the second largest town on the Hawaiian island of Kauai after Kapaa. As of the 2010 ...

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

. Baptiste was a descendant of

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

immigrants who settled in

. He came from a family that has long been involved in politics on Kauai, including his father, who was chair of the former Kauai county board of supervisors, a position equivalent to mayor today.

Career

In 1996, Baptiste, then manager of the Kaua'i War Memorial Convention Hall and head of an islandwide park beautification program, was elected to the Kaua'i County Council.Baptiste timeline
''

The Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Int ...

", June 23, 2008 Baptiste served as a member of the council for six years before running for mayor to succeed Republican

Maryanne Kusaka Maryanne Winona Kusaka (born September 11, 1935) is an American politician, educator and former Mayor of Kauai, Mayor of the County of Kaua'i. She was mayor of Kauai from 1994 to 2002. A career Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kus ...

, who was ineligible to run again due to term limits. In the 2002 mayoral election, Baptiste faced two fellow councilmembers, Democrats

Ron Kouchi Ron Kouchi is a Democratic politician and current 14th President of the Hawaiʻi Senate (replacing Donna Mercado Kim who lost her position in an unusual mid-year leadership reorganization). Personal life Ron Kouchi is married to Joy Naomi Tani ...

and Randal Valenciano. In the September primary election, Baptiste received 38% of the vote, Kouchi received 35%, and Valenciano won 21%, allowing Baptiste and Kouchi to advance to the runoff. In the runoff Baptiste defeated Kouchi, winning 12,174 votes to Kouchi's 10,517. In 2006, Baptiste avoided a runoff by two votes (he needed fifty percent of the vote plus one vote to win), joking, "We had one vote more than we needed to win. That's the cushion." Mayor-Baptiste

Baptiste died while in office of a heart attack on June 22, 2008. He was succeeded by his former deputy,

Bernard Carvalho Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. (born September 29, 1961) is an American politician and former American football player who served as Mayor of Kauai in Hawaii from December 1, 2008, to December 3, 2018. Carvalho was elected in November 2008 to complete t ...

, who won a special election to complete Baptiste's term.

Legacy

Baptiste has since been memorialized with the Kapa'a New Town Park Facility renamed in his honor, following a million dollar upgrade of park facilities, including the installation of new lighting systems, locker rooms, and grass strips for the football field, improvements that Baptiste had long advocated for.In honor of Bryan
; ''

The Garden Island ''The Garden Island'' is a daily newspaper based in Lihue, Hawaii, covering the islands of Kauai and Niihau. ''The Garden Island'' began publication in 1902. It was formerly owned by Scripps League Newspapers, which was acquired by Pulitzer in 19 ...

'', October 23, 2014 He is survived by his wife Annette and their four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptiste, Bryan J. 1955 births 2008 deaths Mayors of Kauai Kauai County Council members People from Kauai County, Hawaii Hawaii people of Portuguese descent Hawaii Republicans 20th-century American politicians American people of Portuguese descent