Posted on: Friday, May 31, 2002

Mayor Harris withdraws from governor's race

•	Mayor's campaign troubled from start
•	Lingle says no change in strategy
•	Mayoral hopefuls left without a race
•	Hirono back in race for governor
•	Campaign investigation made 'bad publicity'
•	Democrats scramble to move into position
•	Reshaping Hawai'i's political landscape:
•	Major events in Jeremy Harris' effort to run for governor
•	Lee Cataluna: Democrats search for real leader
•	Interactive/Multimedia: Video of Harris announcement (courtesy of KHNL-News8) Do you think the mayor made the right decision? Take our survey. Join our discussion. • Submit a letter to the editor.

By Johnny Brannon and Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Staff Writers

With his wife, Ramona, at his right, Mayor Jeremy Harris stands on the steps of Honolulu Hale and announces his withdrawal from the race for governor. The announcement caused a tidal wave of political changes for the fall election. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

In a stunning move that throws the November gubernatorial election wide open, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris announced yesterday that he was withdrawing from the race because he feared he would lose and felt obligated to attend to city business.

"I can't in good conscience ask all of my supporters to go out and give their heart and soul for a campaign that I don't believe I can now win," said Harris, who was viewed as the front-running Democratic candidate.

Harris' announcement came on the eve of the Democratic state convention in Waikiki this weekend, triggering quick political maneuvering and leaving the party scrambling to decide whom to support.

The move also put a swift end to the nascent race for a mayor to replace Harris for the remaining two years of his term at Honolulu Hale. Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who had earlier dropped out of the governor's race to run for mayor, immediately announced that she was again a gubernatorial candidate.

Harris had been dogged by court battles, allegations of fund-raising improprieties and city budget woes, and said recent polls showed he would lose the race to Republican candidate Linda Lingle by more than 22 percentage points — a 30-point drop in support for Harris from last year's polls.

"I simply don't believe that the race is winnable, but I do believe this is one of the most important races in the history of the state," Harris said. "I do believe it's important that the Democratic Party have a standard-bearer who can win in November and who can articulate all of the values of the Democratic Party."

Harris had suspended his campaign for two months pending a Supreme Court decision on when he must resign from office to become a candidate, then kept an exceedingly low profile after the court ruled more than three weeks ago that he had until July 23, the official filing deadline.

Political observers had quietly speculated for weeks that Harris would soon bow out, but campaign officials insisted that he would not, and some of his top supporters said the change of heart took them by surprise.

"I'm very disappointed," said Harris campaign co-chairman B. Rick Tsujimura, who learned of the mayor's decision just hours before he announced it. "I think he would have been the best governor the state has seen."

Neither Tsujimura, Harris nor his chief fund-raiser, Peter Char, could immediately say what the campaign would do with the more than $1 million in campaign contributions Harris had raised.

State Campaign Spending Commission director Robert Watada said the campaign must return the money to contributors if Harris does not use it within four years to run for a state or county office.

The money cannot be given to another candidate or be used in a race for federal office, but up to $25,000 can be donated to a political party, Watada said. If the money is not used or returned, it must be forfeited to the Hawai'i Election Campaign Fund, he said.

Harris said his decision had nothing to do with an ongoing investigation by the city Prosecutor's Office into allegations that campaign officials illegally circumvented contribution limits by attributing donations to people who never made them.

The Campaign Spending Commission has also fined several companies in recent months for making contributions to Harris' 2000 re-election campaign that exceeded the $4,000-per-donor limit.

Harris campaign attorney Chris Parsons said he was confident that no campaign officials would be charged with criminal wrongdoing, but that constant criticism and scrutiny had taken a toll on the mayor.

"None of us had to go out there and answer these constant baseless allegations that he's had to deal with, and actually have the press give them more credence than any of them were worth," Parsons said. "He was convicted in the press long before, and he still hasn't been found to have committed any violations."

Harris said no Democratic Party leaders or other power-brokers had pressured him to step down, and that he had not decided to leave politics or agreed to support another candidate.

"I just know, and I hope and pray, that there will be a Democratic contender who can win in November," he said.

Harris apologized to his supporters for quitting and assured them he would complete the two years that remain in his term as mayor. He said criticism about his financial management of the city had been a large factor in his decision to quit the race for governor.

City Council members and fiscal watchdogs had sharply questioned Harris' plan to balance the city budget for the coming fiscal year by refinancing city debt and borrowing money from special funds.

"My vision was always to turn over this city to the next mayor in condition that was unassailable, and I've worked to do that, and I think we've done that," Harris said. "But in this recent budget debate, it's become clear that members of the City Council and others feel the finances of the city are going to cause problems in the years ahead.

"Some people think that I'm leaving the city in the lurch if I resign now to run for governor," he continued. "Well I don't intend to do that. I don't want anyone to feel like I'm leaving the city in the lurch. Running this city and having it be the best city is my top priority."

Hirono declined to say whether she believed Harris should have left the race earlier to clear the field for other Democratic contenders.

"We can speculate all we want," she said. "He has made that decision, and I have made mine."

The remaining major candidates running in the Sept. 21 Democratic primary election are D.G. "Andy" Anderson, a former state senator who once chaired the Hawai'i Republican Party; and state Rep. Ed Case. Both were considered long shots while Harris was in the race.

State Democratic Party chairwoman Lorraine Akiba said she remains confident her party is offering better candidates than the GOP.

But others said it was clear the Democrats are in deep trouble.

"I think the Democrats are seeing that there's no leader," said University of Hawai'i political science professor Ira Rohter.

Anderson said he did not accept at face value Harris' explanation for withdrawing from the race.

"I know from my own experience in the past that trailing in polls at this point in a race is nothing to be alarmed about," said Anderson, who called Harris a friend.

Anderson said he expects many names to be floated as possible gubernatorial candidates in coming weeks.

"I'm almost certain some in our party will once again put the chess board back on the table and begin looking for a way to manipulate and move the pawns around again to suit themselves," he said. "My strategy won't change. I believe I can win."

Case said Harris' departure from the governor's race has already helped his campaign.

"It is a tremendous boost," said Case who said the phones at his campaign headquarters have been ringing since Harris decided to pull out. "He would have been a formidable opponent and this gives us a better shot at the party nomination."

Lingle said she was not surprised that Harris lagged in polls, and that her own polls earlier this year showed her far ahead of Harris and other candidates.

"I don't think he would make that up," said Lingle, who was on Maui yesterday attending fund-raising events. "Our campaign remains unchanged and focused on making life better for the people of Hawai'i. And we're going to continue on with our statewide grassroots campaign in preparation for whoever wins the Democratic primary."

Advertiser Staff Writers Lynda Arakawa, Robbie Dingeman, Scott Ishikawa and Mike Leidemann contributed to this report.