Gov’s race includes No candidate can claim victory without the help of some powerful friends.
help from big names
All 4 major candidates are
tapping political contacts to help
in their campaignsBy Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.comThis year's race for governor is showing some of those famous names linked with the four major candidates for governor.
Ranging from the well known with a national reputation, to the rarely mentioned back-room experts who know whom to call and how to win a close race, every candidate gets a boost from their big-name allies.
Some candidates, like D.G. "Andy" Anderson, bring to the race a list of some of the notables in Hawaii's political history. Anderson started his campaign with the early encouragement of Larry Mehau, the Big Island rancher, former state Land Board member and key political ally of former Govs. John Burns and George Ariyoshi.
[ ELECTION 2002 ] Since then, Mehau has helped with fund raising and arranging entertainment for Anderson's rallies, according to an Anderson campaign spokesman.
Also helping Anderson is former Senate President Richard "Dickie" Wong, who is also a former Bishop Estate trustee.
"Fudge (Fujio) Matsuda, the former University of Hawaii president, is always there; he is almost like a father figure for the campaign," says Anderson spokesman Ray Lovell.
Helping with day-to-day work is another political veteran, former City Clerk Eileen Lota.
Rep. Ed Case, running in the Democratic primary for governor, has perhaps the most seasoned expert in local politics in national political consultant Joe Napolitan.
"He is a veteran of seven Hawaii races and has a wealth of information and a real gift for getting right to the issues," Case said.
"He lends my campaign tremendous guidance," he added.
The Case campaign also benefits from help from Joe Blanco and his wife, Tess. Blanco is an adviser to Gov. Ben Cayetano and has also worked on U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye's previous campaigns.
Also helping Case is Lloyd Nekoba, an official with the state budget office, who was Cayetano's campaign coordinator in 1998. Nekoba was campaigning for Mayor Jeremy Harris, but after Harris left the race, Nekoba volunteered to help Case, who is his brother-in-law.
"My support started out personally, but I believe Ed is the best choice for the Democrats," Nekoba said.
Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, as the current No. 2 in state government, has picked up a lot of supporters with a connection to the Cayetano administration.
Former attorney general Margery Bronster is backing Hirono, as is Kathy Matayoshi, the highly praised director of the office of commerce and consumer affairs.
Also in Hirono's corner are Gil Agaran, director of the Department of Land & Natural Resources; Wayne Metcalf, insurance commissioner; and Tish Uyehara, deputy agriculture director.
Hirono singled out her honorary campaign co-chairman Richard Kosaki, University of Hawaii chancellor emeritus, as another key contributor.
She has also been helped by Robert Toyofuku, a prominent lobbyist, who is Hirono's campaign chairman.
Finally, Republican Linda Lingle got some early support in her campaign from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who arranged a campaign fund-raising trip for Lingle. Giuliani also wrote a fund-raising letter for Lingle to use locally.
Lingle is also helped by Bob Awana, the assistant to former Honolulu Mayor Eileen Anderson. Awana is now Lingle's campaign director.
And, Lingle notes, she is getting some strong local endorsements. Local businessman Eddie Flores has endorsed Lingle's campaign and is expected to make commercials for her.
State Office of Elections
