Abercrombie and Ige make play for Hawaii’s AJA vote

To learn the dynamic of the Democratic primary race for governor between state Sen. David Ige and Gov. Neil Abercrombie, I asked an Abercrombie supporter and an Ige backer what each saw at this week’s Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii forum.

They asked for anonymity so they could be free with their views. The Abercrombie supporter is an attorney who has held political office. The Ige supporter is a University of Hawaii faculty member active in Democratic politics. Both are Japanese-Americans and long-time Democrats.

The Abercrombie supporter immediately keyed in on Abercrombie’s challenge to attract AJA voters.

Former Gov. George R. Ariyoshi has endorsed Ige and he attended the forum in Moiliili.

"For Gov. George to come out, that is very interesting. I don’t usually see him at one of these things," said Abercrombie’s backer. "For the Japanese community — in terms of who shows up, and who they know — this kind of thing is important."

So relationships were winning Ige votes.

At the same time, the Ige supporter felt Abercrombie was stressing his own AJA relations going back to his college days in Manoa.

"I think Abercrombie was trying to get AJA voters; he kept saying all these Japanese names. But also voters remember there is this question because of the Hanabu-sa thing," said the Ige supporter.

The reference is to Abercrombie’s rebuffing a deathbed plea from U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye that U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa be appointed to succeed him.

That decision, the Ige supporter said, would be "an albatross around Abercrombie’s neck."

Just like their candidates, the pair split on the meaning of Ige’s or Abercrombie’s handling of the state budget. 

Abercrombie faced a budget deficit upon election in 2010. His immediate reaction was cuts in services and proposed increases in taxes. Ige, as Ways and Means chairman, rejected the Abercrombie tax increases and further cut Abercrombie’s state budget.

Abercrombie told the audience that he never raised taxes, and Ige responded by saying it was because the Legislature would not let him. 

Abercrombie got a strong reaction when he said his financial plan was always balanced.

"I must say Neil did a good job," said the Abercrombie supporter. "I think people in the audience began to understand what Neil was trying to say."

The Ige supporter thought Abercrombie’s remarks attacking the Legislature’s financial plan showed Abercrombie "refusing to take responsibility."

"There was nothing in terms of what the administration is doing, what needed to be done. If there are problems, it is your problem, not the Legislature’s," said the Ige supporter.

The forum was the first public meeting between Abercrombie and Ige, and it offered the different views of the two candidates. Abercrombie came loaded with sounds bites such as, "We’re back, we’re in the black, we’re on the right track." 

While Ige downplayed his speaking ability, he instead repeatedly returned to legislative decisions as examples of his thinking.

"Ige is still talking like a legislator; he has to get away from that in terms of presenting a plan that he has for the state of Hawaii — so he missed out," said the Abercrombie supporter. "If he set out his plan and said this is the direction of my campaign and the kind of change I want, I think he would have really come across."

The Ige supporter, however, saw the Pearl City Democrat as someone "who is not flashy," and that was a good thing.

"It is sort of like your father: There is not a lot of drama, you just know Dad is going to take care of things, and that is nurturing," said the Ige supporter.

Voters may not really need tending as much as they need to be given a reason to vote for someone, and both candidates are still trying to fill in that blank.

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