Political File
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Inouye backs Tavares, but not with funding
WAILUKU » U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said he has not contributed any money toward the candidacy of Maui Councilwoman Charmaine Tavares for mayor, although he did announce last week that he endorsed her.
Inouye, the most senior elected Democrat in Hawaii, added: "But who knows? I might dig deep.
"I think my friends might be inclined to support her for mayor. They might say if she's good enough for Dan, she's good enough for them."
Inouye's support for Tavares in the nonpartisan Maui County mayoral race comes at a time when Republican Gov. Linda Lingle has thrown her support toward incumbent Mayor Alan Arakawa.
Both Tavares and Arakawa have run for political office previously as Republicans, although the county has switched in recent years to a nonpartisan format for mayor and Council races.
Tavares, 63, former county parks director and daughter of the late Republican Mayor Hannibal Tavares, led Arakawa in a nine-candidate race in the primary.
Inouye said he knew Tavares as a child and worked with Hannibal Tavares before he became mayor of Maui.
Asked why he endorsed someone who has run as a Republican, Inouye said he felt the position of mayor was important.
"I've done my best to work with all mayors in every county ... whether they're Democrats or Republicans," he said. "She's a good woman. I know her well. She'll do a good job."
Iwase apologizes for debate comment
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Randy Iwase is apologizing for a statement he made in his recent debate with Gov. Linda Lingle, in which he described an "Iwase Democrat" as someone who is born and raised in Hawaii.
In letters to the editor and various blogs, Iwase has been criticized for being exclusionary and suggesting that only local residents could have Democratic values.
"When I looked at the tape, I understand how they got to that conclusion," Iwase said in a meeting with Star-Bulletin reporters and editors. "It was not my intent to say it that way.
"I'm sorry I said it that way."
Candidates were asked to define themselves politically and describe what kind of voter is an Iwase Democrat or a Lingle Republican.
Iwase said that in the hectic, fast-paced nature of the debate, he misinterpreted the question.
"I was talking about me, why I'm a Democrat, what made me stay with the party, and that was really about me," he said. "I should have said, 'Well, I'm a Democrat because ...'
"If I had prefaced it that way, it would've been a lot clearer, but I didn't do that. I just said an Iwase Democrat is someone who was born here, who went to high school here, then I went on and expanded beyond that.
"It's unfortunate that it came out that way," he said. "It really is, because my record and everything is not to be exclusionary."