Procrastinators, poor decision-makers, last minute recruits by a political party, naturally spontaneous -- whatever their reason for filing at the last minute, several dozen people made their way to the Hawaii State Elections Office on Tuesday, July 25, 2006, the final day to register as candidates for the September Primary Election.
Some candidates were cutting it so close, that they pulled nomination papers, rushed to get the required number of signatures, and returned to file their papers, all on Tuesday by 4:30 p.m.
At the downtown Honolulu temporary satellite election office, more than two-dozen candidates filed on Tuesday and there were some surprises.
- Divorce attorney Frank Lockwood is entering politics for the first time, running for Senate as a Democrat against long-time Republican politician and world famous surfer Fred Hemmings. Hemmings, who has a morning radio show on 97.5 FM, will probably have to go silent until election day because of FCC regulations that require equal time for opposing candidates unless the airtime is purchased.
- Treasurer of the Hawaii Democratic Party, Jane Sugimura, jumped in the race against House Minority Leader Lynn Finnegann, R-Halawa. The reason that is so surprising -- Sugimura was just under fire nationally in the media for admitting that Hawaii's Democratic Party participated in a money-laundering scheme to benefit a mainland Democratic candidate. The Associated Press broke the story that involved Democrat parties in three states. Constituents could look at her in a positive light -- while she brought a lot great deal of negative attention to the party locally and nationally, at least she was honest enough to admit the money laundering was occurring.
- Walter Heen is one of more than two-dozen candidates running for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Heen, a former state judge and head of the Hawaii Democratic Party, was one of the five authors in 1997 of the Broken Trust, the essay published by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that exposed the wrongdoing at the Bishop Estate and within Hawaii's political environment. The essay pushed forward a state investigation into corruption and wrongdoing within the trust, which resulted in the 5 powerful trustees being removed, and exposed a “pay to play” system in Hawaii that required those doing business with the county and state governments meant paying off the right people in the process. Also running for OHA is Whitney Anderson, former Republican state legislator from Waimanalo, and OHA incumbents Oswald Stender, Rowena Akana, Dante Carpenter and John D. Waihee IV.
- State election officials say 11 members of the state Legislature and two members of the city council will go unchallenged this election. In the Senate, Democrats Brian Taniguchi, Donna Mercado Kim, Norman Sakamoto, Russell Kokubun and Republican Sam Slom do not have opponents in either the Primary or General elections. In the House, Democrats Dwight Takamine, Josh Green, Mark Takai, Hermina Morita and Republicans Colleen Meyer and Cynthia Thielen will run unopposed. In the Honolulu City Council nonpartisan races, Charles Djou and Council Chair Donovan Dela Cruz will not have opponents.
Three Democrats who lost their bids for re-election to the state Legislature are vying for positions in the state Board of Education including:
- former Senate Ways and Means Chair Donna Ikeda, who was on the BOE until she stepped down to run for lieutenant governor in 2002;
- former State Rep. Terrance Tom, who is remembered for being in cahoots with the corrupt former trustees of the Bishop Estate, for taking $4,000 a month from the Bishop Estate and at the same time, pushing through legislation helpful to the trustees personally, and for being caught in a strip bar with former Sen. Milton Holt after which he claimed not to know where he was because he is blind; and
- Rep. Brian Yamane, who worked in the state Legislature this year for Rep. Bob Herkes, and sent Hawaii Reporter a series of angry emails that could only be described as incoherent.
Former Republican State Rep. Bob McDermott, who did not run for re-election to the House so he could enter the race for Congress, is running for the BOE. Most recently, McDermott has been working for the Navy League.
Saying the public education system is broken and needs to be fixed in order to secure our children's future, Brian Kessler has filed for the BOE race.
Both BOE members appointed by Gov. Linda Lingle, including Paul Vierling and Darwin Ching, say they want to be back on the BOE and have entered the race.
Carolyn Golojuch has filed to run for the BOE. Carolyn, her son, Michael, and her husband, who also ran for office, pride themselves on fighting for gay rights and against the mention of God in public places. But the family has been in the news for more than just marching for gay rights in parades. Michael was arrested and convicted of stealing the campaign signs of Rep. Mark Moses, his mother's opponent's in the 2004 House election. During the 2004 election, Moses caught and photographed Michael removing and driving away with his campaign signs. So BOE candidates beware.
A recap of other races in 2006:
- Gov. Linda Lingle will take on whoever wins the Democrat primary - Randy Iwase or William Aila. Lingle is expected to easily win re-election to a second 4-year-term.
- Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona is running for re-election. The most well-known Democrat to run for this seat and the one who will likely team up with the Democrat gubernatorial candidate victorious in the primary election is Malama Solomon, a former state Legislator.
- In Waianae, another Hawaii Reporter frequent oped contributor, Bud Ebel, is running against Maile Shimabukuro for state House.
- Paul Smith, well-known businessman, community volunteer and frequent editorial contributor to Hawaii Reporter, is running against Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, D-Nuuanu. Smith is married to Linda Smith, the governor's senior policy advisor, and quite often takes positions that his wife must respond to on the governor's behalf with a letter to the editor. They both have a good sense of humor about their exchanges.
One of the most interesting races is the race for U.S. Senate between Congressman Ed Case and incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka. These Democratic candidates are close in the polls. Whoever wins this race, will most likely take on Jerry Coffee, a Republican former POW who is listed as one of the nation's top 10 speakers.
The other race that has brought a great deal of excitement and energy to the 2006 elections is the 2nd Congressional race in which at least 10 well known Democrats and 2 popular Republican candidates are vying for the House seat. On the Democrat side, former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, former state Sen. Matt Matsunaga and Sen. Colleen Hanabusa are ahead in the polls. On the Republican ticket, media personality and state Sen. Bob Hogue and former state House Minority Leader Quentin Kawananakoa are competing in the primary.
All candidates interviewed say they hope that because there are so many interesting races and a variety of candidates to choose from who have filed to run in 2006, that Hawaii voters will cast ballots in the primary and general election, and as a result, boost our state's worst-in-the-nation voting turn out record.
Reach Malia Zimmerman, editor and president of Hawaii Reporter, via email at mailto:Malia@hawaiireporter.com
