GOP has candidates in most House races
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| • | Candidates for the Hawai'i primary election |
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By Lynda Arakawa and Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
After looking for candidates to help Republicans take over the state House, the Hawai'i GOP fielded candidates in all but four House races by yesterday's filing deadline.
The GOP's emphasis was clearly to boost its numbers in the House, where Republicans hold 20 of the 51 seats. Four House Republicans, however, are leaving to run for other offices.
At least four House members are unopposed and will enjoy a free ride this election: Democratic Reps. Dwight Takamine (N. Hilo, Hamakua, N. Kohala) and K. Mark Takai (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit), and Republican Reps. Bertha Leong (Kahala, 'Aina Haina, Kuli'ou'ou) and William Stonebraker (Hawai'i Kai, Kalama Valley).
It was still unclear after yesterday's filing deadline whether Democratic Rep. Ken Hiraki, (Iwilei, Downtown, Makiki) will have a race or will be unopposed.
Republican James Hardway filed to run against Hiraki, but his filing was rejected after one of the names on his nomination petition did not match the social security number or the date of birth listed on the nominating petition, said Chief Elections Officer Dwayne Yoshina.
New information was phoned into elections officials after the 4:30 p.m. filing deadline, and the name on the petition was matched up with the proper social security number and date of birth, Yoshina said.
Yoshina said he has discussed the matter with Republican Party Chairman Micah Kane. If the problem was merely an error in completing the nomination petition, Hardway may be allowed to run against Hiraki, Yoshina said.
However, Yoshina said he will have to check with lawyers for the state to determine if, under these circumstances, he has the authority to put Hardway's name on the ballot.
GOP pushes for House
This year's election includes races for governor, lieutenant governor, the U.S. House of Representatives, every Senate and House seat, all Honolulu City Council seats.
The GOP appears to have made a larger push to recruit candidates in the House. The GOP could not find candidates to run in nine House districts in 2000, although they fielded a candidate in all but one House race in 1998. The Democrats stayed away from four House races in 2000 and ran in every House district in 1998.
"We're very excited of the potential that we have right now," said Kane. "We have the candidates, we have the unity, and I think we're going to give the public a real opportunity to bring balance, to really see a two-party system. It's an honor right now to be involved in such a historic time. It's time to make it happen."
Meanwhile, the GOP's efforts in the state Senate were not so strong. Republicans failed to field a candidate in 10 Senate races. Eight Democrats are unopposed in the primary and general elections this year: Sens. J. Kalani English (E. Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), Brian Taniguchi (Manoa, McCully), Suzanne Chun Oakland (Kalihi, Nu'uanu), Donna Mercado Kim (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Hts.), Norman Sakamoto (Waimalu, Airport, Salt Lake), David Ige (Pearl City, 'Aiea), Cal Kawamoto (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City) and Robert Bunda (North Shore, Wahiawa).
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Lorraine Akiba said Democrats did a better job of fielding candidates in Legislative races than the GOP.
"The Republicans were boasting they were going to be fielding a ton of candidates when they could barely scare up people to cover the ones they claimed were going to be targeted," she said.
"It's typical of Republicans. They talk a lot and they're short on delivery," she said.
Akiba said she expects Democrats to keep control of the House and Senate.
Gov. Ben Cayetano agreed, predicting the balance of power in the House and Senate will remain roughly the same.
Cayetano said a number of Democrats are leaving the House to run for other offices, including Rep. Ed Case, D-23rd (Manoa); Rep. Willie Espero, D-41st (Ewa Beach, Ewa, Iroquois Point) and Rep. Nestor Garcia, D-37th (Waipahu, Crestview). But he said the voters in those districts favor Democrats, and predicted the Democrats will elect new party members to those seats.
Democrats cite 2000 race
The 2000 election helped to rouse Hawai'i Democrats and made it easier to recruit candidates for Legislative races this year, Akiba said. The Republicans bagged an additional seven seats in the House in 2000, giving them a total 19 seats in the 51-member House.
"I think ... it made people realize how important serving in government is and how much if you really care about Hawai'i you need to get involved and make a difference," Akiba said. "I think a lot of the Democrats you see running this election year felt that call to duty."
Regarding Akiba's prediction that the Democrats will retain power in the Legislature, Kane said: "We're just going to have to see on election day. It's going to be a challenge, but we're up for it. We're just going to have to humbly go out there and earn people's votes. (Democrats) view elected office as a right. It's nobody's right, it's a privilege.
"If people just vote for the candidate, if we can give our candidates an opportunity to have a fair playing field, then I'm confident we'll win our share of races," Kane said.
Meanwhile, six of the nine Honolulu City Council seats have no incumbents because of term limits. The Council races have drawn more than two dozen candidates, some of whom have jumped from other elected offices and other high-profile positions in the public and private sector.
Councilman Gary Okino, whose district covers Pearl City to Halawa, is the only candidate who is unopposed.
