Posted on: Friday, May 31, 2002

Mayoral hopefuls left without a race

•	Mayor Harris withdraws from governor's race
•	Mayor's campaign troubled from start
•	Lingle says no change in strategy
•	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 Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer

After Mayor Jeremy Harris announced yesterday that he won't be running for governor, he and his wife, Ramona, headed to his office in Honolulu Hale. His decision has cut short the plans of candidates who had hoped to occupy the mayor's office. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

When Mayor Jeremy Harris dropped out of the governor's race yesterday, he ended the mayoral campaigns of several prominent politicians who had hoped to fill the remaining two years of his term and left them stunned and uncertain what to do next.

The winner-take-all election would have taken place during the Sept. 21 primary. Former Councilman Mufi Hannemann and Councilman Duke Bainum, both well-

financed Democrats, said the polls showed them leading or very close.

Both said Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who yesterday switched back to the governor's race, was trailing them. Former city prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro was also in the race, as was Frank Fasi, who served as mayor for 22 years.

Both Bainum and Hannemann said they want to continue in public service but will have to consult their families, friends and supporters before deciding what to do next.

Bainum said he'll serve the last seven months of his term and work on city finances, which he thinks will benefit from Harris' presence. "I think the last budget session showed that we do have financial problems and it will require his full attention and leadership."

Bainum said he was was "quite shocked" by the news.

"Our focus was solely on the mayor's race," he said.

Hannemann said he has to ponder his next step.

"I was always committed to running for mayor," he said. "It was never about running for governor, state senate, state house. It was always for mayor ... so I don't have a Plan B."

Hannemann said he believes the Democratic Party will pull together despite the setback of having a frontrunner for governor pull out a day before the convention and four months before the primary. "I think the party is always able to rise above any individual."

Fasi agreed that Harris has never faced an opponent as tough as Republican Linda Lingle and has never been under the kind of scrutiny he has faced in recent months. But Fasi said he does not believe any of that is the real reason for Harris' withdrawal.

"There's something else there; there's got to be something else, because one thing I've learned about Harris, he wasn't a quitter," Fasi said. "He's quitting now; he's giving up on everything. That's not Jeremy Harris. There's got to be something else. I don't know what it is."

Kaneshiro said he was surprised by Harris' announcement but does not plan to run for any other office.

"I'm not a career politician," said Kaneshiro, who also was head of the state Department of Public Safety. "I felt the mayor's office would provide me the opportunity to make a difference and to lead the city. I'm not just looking for an office to run for."