Same-sex marriage fight apparently not over yet

The state Senate’s new 23rd District is one long postcard of Hawaii. 

Stretching from Haleiwa to Waiahole-Waikane, the district with its gorgeous beaches and picturesque towns and villages was redrawn by the 2010 Reapportionment Commission.

Beautiful as it may be, the 23rd could also turn into a political test for the Legislature’s action last year legalizing same-sex marriage.

Savvy political veteran Sen. Clayton Hee represents the district. He won the seat in the 2012 election after beating a fairly weak GOP candidate, former Rep. Colleen Meyer, by a less-than-impressive 895 votes.

This year, Hee is opposed by GOP Rep. Richard Fale, a military veteran and the most outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage during the special session.

Hee was both the public face and the behind-the-scenes organizer for the special session. When the White House wanted to know how the session was going and if the votes would line up for passage, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett personally called Hee. When Gov. Neil Abercrombie decided on calling the special session, the first person he checked with was Hee.

"There’s been outrage within the community in regards to the way he has represented our community, especially recently, during the special session," Fale said of Hee during an interview with Star-Advertiser reporter Derrick DePledge.

"The fight was expected," said Hee, who said "it doesn’t surprise me, given his absolute opposition to the measure; he was very animated."

Fale ran against Hee in 2008, in the old Senate district and lost. Hee had 62 percent of the vote and Fale just 30 percent.

The 23rd now has the mostly Mormon area of Laie as a large part of its voters base, and Fale, who is Mormon, has a much stronger chance.

What makes the race something of a bellwether for local politics in 2014 is the opponent’s complaint that the same-sex marriage special session was a foregone conclusion.

During the special session, Fale said he planned to bring dog food to the session because this is nothing but a dog and pony show.

Rep. Sharon Har, a Democrat from Kapolei, voted against the same-sex marriage bill and said the special session was a cleaver chopping through the democratic process.

"A lot of people felt disenfranchised. They felt legislators were not listening to them, and that may prompt many people to get involved," said Har.

Money and support are available for local candidates in opposition to the same-sex marriage vote, Har said.

"You look at the power, the financial power, of the churches  the churches have money; if they feel they have the right candidate, I am sure they will have support," Har said.

During the special session, supporters of same-sex marriage were helped by more than a half-million dollars in political donations from the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii and the New York-based Freedom to Marry advocacy group.

Har said that kind of political money is transitory and won’t be around to help gay-marriage legislators this fall "because they already got what they want.

"I think the liberal progressives are worried; that is why they are fundraising like mad men and women," said Har.

Hee said his read of the 23rd District is that it is heavy with "Greens" who are pro-environment, slow- or no-growth supporters. He is confident that his political stances are strongly aligned with that, so the race will not be that much of a challenge. 

Unmentioned is the fact that Hee also has a campaign treasury of more than $400,000.

If churches and other conservative lobbying groups are able to mount a big challenge, the conventional campaign wisdom gets a lot less conventional.

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