Mavericks Cayetano, Kim rocking Democratic boat

If Ben Cayetano’s jump back into politics was a shocker, imagine how the powers that be are feeling now that Harry Kim is back on the radar screen.

Last week, Kim stunned many by filing for his old seat as mayor of Hawaii County.

Kim, like fellow maverick Cayetano, is 72 and had retired after a successful life of government service.

Unlike Cayetano, however, Kim served most of his time as Civil Defense director, becoming a beloved voice guiding folks through volcanic eruptions, floods and hurricanes.

In comparison, Cayetano was a creature of the Legislature, running minor and major committees, setting policy, conducting investigations. He then served eight years as lieutenant governor, where he again was changing the game; he wrapped up public service with eight years as governor.

But Cayetano is now coming back for more — with plans to overhaul Honolulu’s transportation policy by changing its heavy rail plan into an expanded bus system.

In contrast, the eight years of Kim as mayor of Hawaii County was one of successfully navigating one of the more twitchy jobs in local politics.

Hawaii island’s two major population areas are Kona and Hilo, separated by the magnificent twin mountains of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea and by decades of deep suspicion that one side is getting more or better government services than the other.

Add to that the dilemma of what to do with the only somewhat governable area of Puna. The area is nearly the size of Kauai and has no hospitals and only a rudimentary transportation system.

With Hawaii Volcanoes National Park within its boundaries, Puna is also one of the most geologically active areas on Earth.

All the hot spot bubbling and fuming makes Puna the first area to be tapped for expanded geothermal energy, and that is what brought Kim out of retirement.

Kim says the decision to move ahead with more development without coordination and study by the county disturbed him and he decided to run again.

The race pits him against his one-time protégé, current Mayor Billy Kenoi, as well as County Council Chairman Dominic Yagong.

Kenoi has been seen by the state Democratic establishment as the next big thing. An affable, young local attorney, Kenoi has been mentioned as someone who could run for governor or Congress with a lot of old-line Democrat support.

Kim, who first ran as a Republican, switched to the Democrats, and was actually courted as a candidate to run against Linda Lingle before her second term.

A Harry Kim campaign is something of a study in anti-campaigning. He accepts no donations of more than $10, runs few ads and has no campaign organization.

"Harry is just Harry, he is like the comfortable shoe you wear when you get home; he was as well-liked when he left office as when he first entered politics," says one Hawaii island Democrat supporter.

Just like Cayetano was not supposed to run for Hono- lulu mayor, Kim was expected to stay retired.

Yet, in their own ways, the two long-time leaders have been rebels in their own camp. Cayetano certainly went against the unions during his last term in office with his attempts to reform civil service, and Kim set the gold standard for running a campaign without special- interest attachments.

Both candidates are not now what the unions or the establishment Democrats want, but the voters soon could be hanging "Mayor" in front of both their names.

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Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.