Deputy County Attorney Justin Kollar defeated incumbent Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho in his first bid for the top seat in the Kauai prosecutor’s office.

Kollar garnered 14,289 votes, or 55.8 percent, in Tuesday’s general election while Iseri-Carvalho received 9,514 votes, or 37.1 percent. Another 1,803 votes, or
7 percent, were blank.

"I feel humbled and honored that the community is placing their trust in me," said Kollar, 39. "I just want to do everything I can to honor it. We have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us."

Iseri-Carvalho, the first woman to be elected to the office of county prosecutor in Hawaii, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

In September, Iseri-Carvalho was named in a federal lawsuit filed by Councilman Tim Bynum. She and other county officials were accused of abuse of power. Bynum said he was wrongfully prosecuted over allegations he had violated zoning laws and had an illegal kitchen in an addition to his Kapaa house.

Also in September, Kauai County reached a $120,000 settlement with former prosecutor’s office attorney Shannon Weigel in a racial discrimination complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Iseri-Carvalho.

Iseri-Carvalho had said Bynum’s complaint and Weigel’s settlement were timed politically to have an effect on her re-election.

Kollar, of Wailua, for the past three years has worked as deputy county attorney under County Attorney Al Castillo Jr. He previously worked under former Prosecutor Craig De Costa and Iseri-Carvalho in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

A native of Allentown, Pa., Kollar obtained a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Boston University and his law degree from Suffolk University. Kollar worked as an assistant corporation counsel for the city of Boston before he moved to Hawaii in 2006.

Last year, he served as president of the Kauai Bar Association.

Kollar will be sworn in as the county’s new prosecutor at the Kauai Memorial Convention Hall in Lihue on Dec. 3.

As prosecutor, Kollar said he plans to mend relationships with the judiciary, legislators and county. Those relationships have suffered in recent years for various reasons, he added, but would not provide specifics.

"Those relationships will benefit from a different collaborative management style in the prosecutor’s office. I look forward to bringing that style with me into the office," Kollar said.