Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. (born September 29, 1961) is an American politician and former American football player who served as

Mayor of Kauai The Mayor of Kauai is the chief executive officer of the County of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. The mayor has municipal jurisdiction over the islands of Kauai and Ni’ihau. Derek Kawakami was elected on November 6, 2018, as the mayor of Kauai ...

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 ...

from December 1, 2008, to December 3, 2018. Carvalho was elected in November 2008 to complete the unexpired term of former Mayor

Bryan J. Baptiste Bryan J. Baptiste (October 15, 1955 – June 22, 2008) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as mayor of the County of Kauai in Hawaii from 2002 until his death. Early life Baptiste was born in Lihue, Kaua ...

, who died in office in June 2008.

Biography

Early life

Carvalho was born on Kauai island to Bernard P. Carvalho Sr. and Priscilla Hanohano. He graduated from

Kapaa High School Kapaa High School is a public high school in Kapaʻa, Hawaii on the island of 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 ( ...

in 1979. While in high school, Carvalho was a star athlete in football and basketball. Carvalho then enrolled at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

on a full football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

in 1983. Carvalho was drafted by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

in 1984 shortly after graduating from college. He played in the NFL for the Dolphins for two seasons. He returned to Kauai after leaving the Dolphins in order to get married. Carvalho is married to the former Regina "Gina" Godinez, who is originally from

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast of California, located in San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 census. The city is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and architecture. ...

. The couple have three children, Bronson, Brennan, and Brittney. In addition to his political and football careers, Carvalho has also held positions in the

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

and airline industries on Kauai.

Kauai government

Carvalho was hired by the Kauai Department of Public Works Recreation as an entry level employee in 1985. Former Mayor

appointed Carvalho as Director of the Offices of Community Assistance in December 2002. He oversaw several Kauai County government agencies, including

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...

, housing,

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or ple ...

, and the elderly. He is credited with the expansion of The Kauai Bus service on the island. In 2007, Mayor Baptiste appointed Carvalho to create and implement the new Kauai Department of Parks and Recreation as its first director. The new department had been authorized by voters in the 2006 Hawaii general election. He remained head of the Department of Parks and Recreation until Mayor Baptiste's death in June 2008.

Mayor of Kauai

Carvalho announced his candidacy for Mayor of Kauai on July 8, 2008, to fill the remaining two years of former Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste's unexpired term. Baptiste had died in office on June 22, 2008. Carvalho made the announcement at the Historic County Building with supporters and members of the Baptiste family, including Baptiste's widow, Annette Baptiste. Carvalho won the

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

mayoral primary with 7,143 votes, or 39.8% of the vote. Former Kauai Mayor JoAnn Yukimura, who has previously served as Mayor of Kauai from 1988 until 1992, also qualified for the general election by finishing in second place with 5,372 votes (29.9%). Mel Rapozo and Rolf Bieber finished in third and fourth place respectively. On November 4, 2008, Carvalho was elected Mayor of Kauai in a special election held to fill the remaining two years of Baptiste's unexpired term in office. Carvalho defeated JoAnn Yukimura in the 2008 election. He was sworn into office in Lihue on December 1, 2008. Carvalho announced his intention to seek a full four-year term in the 2010 mayoral election. Carvalho easily won the

mayoral

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

held on September 18, 2010, garnering 13,024 votes, equivalent to 75.7% of the vote. Carvalho's only primary challenger, Diana LaBedz, a

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

counselor who campaigned against

plastic bottle A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. The size ranges from ...

s and genetically modified organisms, came in a distant second in the primary with 2,548 votes, or 14.8%. Under

Kauai County Kauai County ( haw, Kalana o Kauaʻi) (officially known as the County of Kauai) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Kauai, Niihau, Lehua, and Kaula. As of the 2020 Census the population was 73,298. The co ...

law, the two top vote earners in the primary, Carvalho and LaBedz, automatically advance to the mayoral general election. Bernard Carvalho faced opponent Diana LaBedz in the mayoral

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

on November 2, 2010. Carvalho easily won re-election to a full four-year term by taking 17,743 votes, while LaBedz placed a distant second with 3,678 votes. Mayor Carvalho was sworn into his first full term on Wednesday December 1, 2010, at Kauai War Memorial Hall. Carvalho and

Hawaii County 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 ...

Mayor Billy Kenoi jointly endorsed former Honolulu Mayor

Mufi Hannemann Muliufi Francis Hannemann (born July 16, 1954) is an American politician, businessman, and non-profit executive. He was elected twice as Mayor of Honolulu in 2004 and 2008. Hannemann has served as a special assistant in Washington, D.C., with ...

in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary over Hannemann's challenger, former U.S. Rep.

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a graduate of Union College and the ...

. Despite the endorsements, Abercrombie went on to definitively defeat Hannemann in the

, 60 percent to 38 percent.

2018 Hawaii lieutenant gubernatorial race

In 2017, Carvalho announced his candidacy for

Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii ( haw, Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of ...

. He finished in third place in the Democratic primary with 45,825 votes (19.2%).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvalho, Bernard 1961 births Mayors of Kauai University of Hawaiʻi alumni Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Miami Dolphins players People from Kauai County, Hawaii Living people Hawaii Democrats Hawaii people of Portuguese descent