Governor hopefuls With 14 months remaining before the first vote is cast for the next Hawaii governor, the top three gubernatorial candidates already show six-figure balances in their campaign war chests.
piling up the money
Lingle, Hirono and Harris
have 6-figure sums fully 14
months before the electionHannemann outpaces Bainum in early efforts
By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comExpected Republican candidate Linda Lingle raised $400,684 during the first six months of this year, putting her cash at hand at $454,673 as of June 30, according to supplemental campaign spending reports due yesterday at the State Campaign Spending Commission.
About 90 percent of the contributions came from Hawaii residents.
The report shows 2,243 contributors gave her an average of $178 each.
Lingle, in a statement yesterday, said she knows it is going to be a tough campaign, and getting an early start is important.
"It's very encouraging to have this kind of support so early in the race," said the former Maui mayor and 1998 gubernatorial candidate.
Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono's campaign for governor has kept pace with Lingle. Her report listed a balance of $222,522 as of June 30, but the figure does not include about $200,000 netted in a fund-raiser earlier this month.Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, who faces Hirono and other Democratic challengers in the 2002 primary election, has $130,495 in his war chest. He did little fund raising during the first half of this year, listing just $5,394 in contributions.
But Harris is expected to gain ground on the other two candidates after a major fund-raiser set for next week. His campaign officials estimate the event could bring in as much as $250,000 in contributions.
State Rep. Ed Case (D, Manoa) is also considering a run for governor or for Congress in 2002, but has not yet made a decision. Case's campaign spending report listed a balance of $13,939.
Meanwhile, the race for use of the black Lincoln Towncar with the "State 2" license plate -- used by the lieutenant governor -- remains a fuzzy picture.
State Rep. Charles Djou (R, Kahaluu-Kaneohe) said he is actively considering running for lieutenant governor and has about $13,000 on hand.
Clayton Hee, an Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee and a former state senator, says he will run for lieutenant governor on the Democratic ticket. Hee did not have to meet yesterday's campaign spending deadline because he shut down his campaign committee following his re-election to OHA last year.
Hee said he will reactivate his committee just before he begins his first fund-raiser for lieutenant governor.
"There's no question I'm running for lieutenant governor," Hee said. "That's what I'm going to do."
Another Democrat considering a run for lieutenant governor is City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura, who closed his campaign committee account and started a new one after the commission questioned certain travel expenses earlier this year.
During the past six months, Yoshimura has raised $60,968 and lists a balance of $46,762.
Other legislators also considering the lieutenant governor's race are Sen. Matt Matsunaga (D, Palolo), Sen. Bob Hogue (R, Kaneohe-Enchanted Lake) and Rep. David Pendleton (R, Maunawili).
Matsunaga has $10,911 at hand, while Hogue lists $9,767. Pendleton reported a $3,838 balance.
Meanwhile, the Federal Elections Commission deadline to file midyear reports for U.S. congressional campaigns is today.
Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink shows a cash balance of $112,668 as of June 30. Mink raised $31,659 during the Jan. 1-June 30 period, with $22,500 from political action committees and $6,375 from individual contributors.
State Rep. Bob McDermott (R, Aliamanu-Foster Village), who will run for Mink's seat next year, opened his FEC campaign committee account this month. He will not say how much money he has raised, but said he is pleased with the support so far. McDermott is holding a $250-a-seat fund-raiser on Aug. 23.
"We're raising money," he said. "We're getting a fantastic response from the business community."
Former Honolulu Councilman Mufi Hannemann has about 10 times the amount of money that future mayoral opponent Duke Bainum has in his war chest, according to the latest reports filed with the Campaign Spending Commission. Hannemann outpaces
Bainum in early effortsBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com
Here is a list of potential mayoral candidates and how much money is in their respective campaign accounts: WAR CHESTS
Hannemann, who finished second in the challenge to Mayor Jeremy Harris' re-election bid last year, reported having $210,755.07 in cash. His campaign committee collected $186,536.01 during the period between Jan. 1 and June 30 despite little public campaign activity. It reported $2,853.85 in disbursements during the period.
Bainum reported $21,009.71 in cash. The campaign committee collected $70,763 in receipts during the campaign period but disbursed $53,756.19. The Bainum campaign held a fund-raiser during the period and also sent out mailers to target audiences.
The two are announced candidates for the mayor's seat, expected to be vacated next year when Harris resigns to run for governor. Harris announced in April his intentions to step down.
Hannemann said he is buoyed by the amount of contributions at a time when his campaign has been put on hold briefly as he recovers from his June heart surgery.
"People haven't stopped responding even as I recover," Hannemann said. His campaign supporters have made some solicitations, he said, "but there really hasn't been a total wholesale effort."
The Hannemann campaign has not had a fund-raiser, and there are no immediate plans for one, the candidate said.
Bainum also said he is happy with the state of his campaign. "We wanted to concentrate on smaller donations, and we had over 670 new donors in the four to five months we've been campaigning," he said.
The Bainum campaign spent money on mailings, T-shirts, literature and logo development, the candidate said, adding that he anticipates he will need to raise more than $1 million to be competitive in the mayor's race. "We're counting on the bulk of it being from donations," he said.
Previous campaigns have been financed in large part by Bainum and his family.
Former Mayor Frank Fasi, who finished third in the mayor's race last year, has also announced his intention to run next year. Fasi's campaign committee reported having $4,823.97 in cash with receipts of $14.88 and disbursements during the period of $104.24.
Former city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, who has indicated he is contemplating a run for mayor, does not need to file a campaign report because he has not run for office since 1992.
State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae-Nanakuli-Makaha), who has also been mentioned as a possible mayoral candidate, reported $76,188.21 in cash with receipts of $55,887.08 and expenses of $18,121.56 during the period.