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Mayoral races Personalities, rather than positions, appear to dominate campaigns for mayor on the Oahu and the Big Island.
backdrop for
political spectacle
Primary Election 2000
By Rod Thompson and Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-BulletinIn Honolulu, the race is a referendum on the performance of Jeremy Harris, the six-year incumbent. A spirited challenge is being mounted by former City Councilman Mufi Hannemann, but no clear-cut issues have arisen to distinguish them.
Meanwhile, Frank Fasi is trying to get his old job back from his former protege, Harris.
On the Big Island, the candidates also rarely talk issues, although the presence of two businessmen among the five major candidates suggests a referendum on the Big Island economy. Twelve candidates are seeking to replace incumbent Stephen Yamashiro, who is barred from running again.
The two counties have been treated to political spectacle in the past.
Early Oahu printouts in 1992 showed Frank Fasi trailing Dennis O'Connor, sparking celebration at O'Connor headquarters. The next morning, Fasi was still mayor.
In the 1988 Big Island race, perennial "also-ran" Bernard Akana roared from behind to oust Mayor Dante Carpenter.
Hannemann is an established politician, but he still needs an Akana-like performance to win this year. Polls show Harris with a two-digit percentage lead.
The election is nonpartisan and being conducted special-election style. The top vote-getter can win outright on Sept. 23 by simply grabbing 50 percent of the votes cast, plus one vote.
The question is, can Harris do it? If not, he'll go against the second-place finisher on Nov. 7.
Hannemann, who's been on the City Council since 1994 and also served in appointed posts on the federal and state levels, seems to be banking on finishing second and then gaining momentum into November.
The Big Island mayor's race is a traditional partisan one.
Democrat Robert Herkes, a Kamehameha Schools land development executive, former hotel manager and state representative, and Republican Harvey Tajiri, a businessman and former state representative, may represent economic potential to voters.
Herkes' power base is in Kona, where the economy is good. Tajiri is from Hilo, where it still lags.
The main Democratic alternative is physician Fred Holschuh, who emphasizes social issues like elder care.
The Republican alternative is former Civil Defense Director Harry Kim, who has a history of caution on economic proposals, such as geothermal energy, if they seem to pose social or environmental problems.
Voters dissatisfied with all of the above may be drawn to Green Keiko Bonk, who is unopposed in the primary election.
Other candidates thought to have lesser support bases are Democrat Gery Navarro, Republicans Stuart Gregory, Wendell Kaehuaea, Myron Nachbar and Dan Roudebush, and nonpartisans Jonathan Adler and Mike Peacock.
