Typical Democratic donors slow to ante up
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief
The latest campaign spending reports suggest the three leading Democrats running for governor may be starved for money this year as big donors wait to see who wins the primary, hedge their bets and give money to both parties or simply walk away from the politically toxic atmosphere surrounding campaign contributions.
A review of the campaign spending reports filed last week suggests many of the contractors, architects, engineers and other large firms that traditionally supply much of the money for Hawai'i campaigns have not yet donated much to the four leading gubernatorial candidates.
Republican Linda Lingle has large numbers of relatively small contributions, a pattern she established in the 1998 race, and has more out-of-state contributions than the Democrats. Donors from the Mainland account for about 27 percent of the total contributed to Lingle.
Among Lingle's larger contributors are several banks and a number of contractors who do business with the city or state. She is also favored by car dealership owners in Hawai'i, with many donating to her. Lingle is a member of the Cutter family, which owns dealerships across the state and in California.
Campaign Spending Commission Executive Director Robert Watada said he doubts the candidates for governor will be as well-financed this year as they were in 1998, when Gov. Ben Cayetano spent $4.85 million to win re-election, and Lingle spent about $3.2 million to challenge him.
But Watada said information his office has gathered suggests the serious fund raising is under way now and that many of the traditional big-money contributors who supported Democrats in the past will direct their donations to Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.
A break from tradition
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Not everyone agrees. Mike McCartney, a former state senator and co-chairman of Cayetano's 1998 campaign, said he expects some traditional contributors will stop giving money to candidates this year. As one example, he pointed to the announcement by BancWest Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Walter Dods that First Hawaiian Bank will no longer contribute.
D.G. "Andy" Anderson had about $45,000 on hand just 11 weeks before the primary election.
If more donors follow suit, that may reconfigure Hawai'i political campaigns this year, forcing candidates to rely less on expensive media and more on personal contact between the candidate and the voter, he said.
"Once people know you personally, what's on the television or in the newspaper is secondary to what they feel about you on a personal level," McCartney said. "That's why grassroots is very powerful. They know it first-hand."
Campaign spending reports filed last week show Lingle had more than $1.1 million tucked away for the campaign at the end of June, while Hirono had $306,000.
Of the other leading Democrats, state Rep. Ed Case had about $85,000 on hand just 11 weeks before the primary election, and D.G. "Andy" Anderson had about $45,000.
If history is any indication, the Democrats must do better to win.
Democrats in 'dire' state
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Perhaps the closest parallel in Hawai'i politics to the race for governor year was in 1986, when John Waihee faced fellow Democrats Cec Heftel and Patsy Mink in a three-way gubernatorial primary.
Rep. Ed Case had about $85,000 on hand just 11 weeks before the primary election.
Anderson, who was running for governor as a Republican in 1986, was able to conserve his resources because he faced only token opposition in the GOP primary. Waihee and Anderson each spent a total of about $2 million, and Waihee won with about 52 percent of the vote.
Bill Paty, who was Waihee's 1986 campaign chairman, said he sees the situation as much more dire for the Democrats this year because Lingle is a formidable candidate, and it isn't clear the current crop of Democratic candidates will be able to generate the momentum Waihee created.
He also said he doesn't believe the Democrats will be able to match Lingle's money this year. They will eventually be able to tap traditional Democratic supporters, labor and some national sources, but most of that money won't be available until after the primary, he said.
"I think there is funding out there, but I think that this point in time they don't want to commit. They're waiting to see who comes out in front and whether they have a fighting chance," Paty said. "I don't think anybody's going to get any significant money before the primary."
McCartney said there will be more money flowing into the campaigns as the election draws nearer but said the state economy is still relatively weak. People aren't contributing as much as they once did to political campaigns, or for that matter to non-profits and charities, McCartney said.
Wary contributors
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Watada said the economy was actually worse in 1998, when Lingle and Cayetano combined raised more than $8 million. But he said the pace of contributions this year has been dampened by "fear" generated by Campaign Spending Commission investigations into contributors to Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, Cayetano, Maui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana, Hirono and others. Dozens of people and some of the state's largest companies have been fined — and publicly embarrassed — for exceeding contribution limits.
Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono had $306,000 tucked away for the campaign at the end of June.
Harris also has nearly $1 million he raised to run for governor before he dropped out of the race in May. While he has promised to return most of the money to donors, some believe that Harris' withdrawal, coupled with the aggressive investigation into campaign fund raising, has turned off some of the party's usual contributors.
Watada said he believes people are waiting to see who will take the lead in the Democratic primary. "People don't tend to try to give money to the losers. They're going to give money to the winners, who they feel will be the winners," he said.
When the money finally does come, Watada said there will be another difference: He predicted that uncertainty about the outcome of the race will prompt many contributors to make substantial donations to both Lingle and the winner of the Democratic primary.
That will be particularly true of firms that do business with the state and hope to win favor with the candidates because they want government contracts, he said.
Hirono has the support of at least a dozen city and state contractors as well a contributions from some unions, banks and several members of the Cayetano cabinet.
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Case also received several contributions from Cayetano cabinet members, donations from a variety of Honolulu lawyers, and more than two dozen donations from family members.
Republican Linda Lingle campaign chest at the end of June was more than $1.1 million.
Anderson's latest filing includes contributions from lawyers, some banks and some lobbyists or advocates for the gambling industry. Anderson is the only one of the major gubernatorial candidates who favors any form of legalized gambling.
Cayetano said Friday there is "some money" on the way to help the Democrats, but it will arrive later. "But the Democrats have always run on organization and the message, and that's how we're going to have to run again," he said.
If the major donors sit out the election, the Democrats will have to reach the voters through "grassroots" techniques such as coffee hours, person-to-person connections, public appearances and media coverage of events.
The problem with the grassroots campaign approach is that such efforts take longer to plan, prepare and organize. At this point, the candidate with the advantage in those areas is Lingle, who has been laying the groundwork to run for governor for more than four years.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
