Ige to find out whether nice guys always finish last

Nothing cries out for a challenger like an unpopular governor approaching a free ride to a second term.

So it was likely that someone would run against Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie — but David Ige?

His decision to leave what would have been a safe reelection next year at first seems irrational, but as one friend in the state Senate said, "David doesn’t jump into the pool until he knows how deep it is."

After announcing that he would challenge Abercrombie in the August 2014 Democratic primary, the state Capitol became the impromptu base for the David Ige fan club. Legislators, former legislators and businessmen all said Ige was one of their favorites.

At 56, Ige has served in the House and Senate since being appointed in 1985 by former Gov. George Ariyoshi to filled Arnold Morgado’s House seat.

I remember going over to Hawaiian Telephone to interview the young engineer immediately after the announcement. I thought, "What a nice guy; how is he going to last in Hawaii politics?"

He is an electrical engineer blessed with the ability to neither talk down to the technically challenged, nor ignore pleas for help.

When he was chairman of the Education Committee, his private office was stacked with dozens and dozens of used computers donated by businesses that he was checking before having them donated to public schools.

"It was the whole notion of getting volunteers to redeploy," Ige said. "It helped businesses and the schools."

Now as chairman of the Senate’s money committee, Ways and Means, Ige is one of the deciders on the state’s $23.8 billion operating budget.

Fellow senators describe him as a social liberal and fiscal conservative who leans toward business.

Along the way, Ige has had a hand in auto insurance reform, some of the first substantive public education reform back in 1994 and support for venture capital funding.

"I learned that you can pass great legislation, but then it falls flat on its face in implementation," Ige said to explain, in part, why he is running for governor.

Asked how much of his campaign is against Abercrombie, Ige said none.

"I am not running against Gov. Abercrombie; this is a natural extension of public service. I think the state can be better and the state can do better," Ige said in an interview.

"When I meet with people, what comes through loud and clear is that obviously there is restlessness in the community; there is a feeling that government is not listening. People don’t have a sense they get good value in state government."

Obviously Ige’s first political problem is being completely invisible to most voters. The Legislature provides its own publicity but it rarely transfers to the public consciousness; being a nice guy makes you a nice guy, not well known.

The cure for not being recognized is to get on television and start buying lots of ads. So far, Ige has about $74,000 compared to Abercrombie’s $1.4 million. The governor’s campaign fund is expected to grow, but to be competitive, Ige’s will need a mammoth cash infusion.

"I have every confidence the voter in Hawaii cannot be bought," Ige said. "Since announcing, I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people offering to help."

Ige may get some union endorsements, but Abercrombie is already doing well to get most of the major labor nods. Also, ethnic voting helps somewhat, but it is nothing to base a campaign on.

Primary challenges to incumbent Hawaii governors almost always fail, but we have seen other recent dark horse winners such as Tulsi Gabbard triumph over a heavily favored Mufi Hannemann.

Still, Ige is diving into a pretty deep pool.

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