Congressional changes put Hannemann back in game

Politics is full of second chances, but few have gotten theirs as swiftly or as gift-wrapped as former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

A year ago Hannemann was damaged political goods after taking a 59.4 percent-to-37.8 percent beating from Neil Abercrombie in the Democratic primary for governor.

It was a stunning repudiation of a richly financed and heavily endorsed sitting mayor and left Hannemann with no clear return path to high public office.

Then Hawaii’s 87-year-old U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka announced he’ll retire next year, and Hannemann was right back in the action.

After U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono jumped into the Senate contest against Ed Case and Linda Lingle, Hannemann — who had considered running for the Senate himself — decided to take the safer comeback route and go for Hirono’s House seat in the 2nd Congressional District.

With name recognition, a big bankroll and a long list of power endorsements, the former mayor is the clear front-runner in the Democratic primary against freshman City Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard, veteran congressional aide Esther Kiaaina and possibly former state Sen. Gary Hooser.

Former state GOP Chairman Jonah Kaauwai is also reported to be looking at the race.

A seat in Congress has been Hannemann’s goal since he started his political career by losing U.S. House elections to Pat Saiki and Patsy Mink; when Akaka announced his retirement, he must have thought, "Now you tell me."

If he’d known Akaka was stepping down, Hannemann likely would have finished the final two years of his mayoral term and then run for the Senate, with the support of the power establishment that is now backing the light-hitting Hirono for lack of a stronger candidate against the independent Case and the Republican Lingle.

But with Akaka hinting until this year that he’d seek re-election, Hannemann saw no opening in Washington and made the ill-fated decision to run for governor.

The House seat is no slam dunk for Hannemann, but it appears his to lose if he avoids the heavy-handedness and strategic mistakes of his run for governor. If he holds the votes he got in that election, it should be enough to win a four-way congressional primary.

Gabbard comes from a well-known political family and is picking up some union and party support, but she’ll have to explain to voters why she deserves a promotion after so little time on the Council.

Kiaaina is well regarded within the party but is little known among voters and won’t likely have the funding to change that.

Hooser, who had lackluster finishes in previous runs for Congress and lieutenant governor, is embracing the Occupy Wall Street ideology in an attempt to paint Hannemann as a tool of the corporate elite.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.