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 the unexpired term of former Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste, who died in office in June 2008.

Biography Early life Carvalho was born on Kauai island While in high school, Carvalho was a star athlete in football and basketball. Carvalho then enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa on a full football scholarship. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications and public relations in 1983.

Carvalho was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1984 shortly after graduating from college. 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%).

Carvalho announced his intention to seek a full four-year term in the 2010 mayoral election. Carvalho easily won the nonpartisan mayoral primary election 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 counselor who campaigned against plastic bottles and genetically modified organisms, came in a distant second in the primary with 2,548 votes, or 14.8%. Mayor Carvalho was sworn into his first full term on Wednesday December 1, 2010, at Kauai War Memorial Hall.

Carvalho and Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi jointly endorsed former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary over Hannemann's challenger, former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie. Despite the endorsements, Abercrombie went on to definitively defeat Hannemann in the primary election, 60 percent to 38 percent.

2018 Hawaii lieutenant gubernatorial race

In 2017, Carvalho announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii. He finished in third place in the Democratic primary with 45,825 votes (19.2%).