Primary election challenges rejected
The Hawaii Supreme Court has rejected two more challenges to the primary election results in state House District 23 (Waikiki) and to minimum requirements in the nonpartisan gubernatorial race.
The justices found in separate rulings Wednesday that the allegations raised by candidate Rex Saunders in the District 23 race and nonpartisan gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cunningham would not have changed the outcome of the primary election results in their respective races.
The justices also noted that the relief the candidates sought is not provided for by state law. The only remedy provided by law for primary election irregularities is for the high court to decide which candidate was nominated or elected.
In the House District 23 race, Tom Brower garnered 1,262 votes to Saunders' 540 votes. Louis Erteschik collected 456 votes.
Saunders had argued that Hawaii's primary election law violated his federal constitutional rights and allowed Republican Party members to vote for his opponent.
He also argued that two other candidates had "grossly exceeded" campaign spending limits.
Cunningham was among three nonpartisan gubernatorial candidates who did not receive the minimum votes required by law for nonpartisan candidates in the primary election to advance to the general election.
He argued that voters and nonpartisan candidates were "misled" into believing that nonpartisan candidates would advance to the general election because of the designation of the nonpartisan ballot as a "nonpartisan party ballot."
State candidate arrested on third DUI
Republican state House candidate Kurt Zuttermeister was arrested last month for drunken driving, according to state court records.
Zuttermeister was unavailable for comment yesterday and did not return calls.
According to state records, Zuttermeister was arrested Sept. 26 for driving while intoxicated and driving without a valid license. According to court records, the arrest was his third since 1997. He was found guilty in the two earlier cases.
Last month, the state Ethics Commission noted that Zuttermeister was one of four state House candidates who had failed to file a required financial disclosure statement by the Sept. 5 deadline.
Zuttermeister is running against Democratic incumbent Rep. Pono Chong in the Mau- nawili-Kaneohe 49th House District.