Former city Managing Director Kirk Caldwell more than doubled incumbent Mayor Peter Carlisle’s fundraising take for the first six months of 2012, but they trailed former Gov. Ben Cayetano in both the total raised and the amount left for the final stretch of the primary campaign.
Caldwell raised $511,000 for the January-June reporting period and has $100,000 in cash on hand, according to reports filed Wednesday with the state Campaign Spending Commission. He still carries a debt of about $188,000 from his 2010 campaign.
"The encouragement we have received allows us to be strong and competitive," Caldwell said in a statement. "The success of our fundraising efforts demonstrates that many people are unhappy with Honolulu’s current leadership."
Cayetano, the only one of the three opposed to the city’s planned $5.26 billion rail system, pulled in $893,000 for the six-month period, while Carlisle raised $198,000, according to reports filed with the Campaign Spending Commission.
Cayetano also leads all candidates with $614,000 in cash on hand as of July 1, compared with $246,000 for Carlisle.
"The truth is that his opponents will need to spend a great deal of money in their efforts to try to counter Mayor Carlisle’s excellent record of creating a savings for the city and county, without raising taxes during the worst recession in a generation, while at the same time taking a pay cut for himself," Nani Medeiros, Carlisle’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
Cayetano pulled support from all corners of the state, including neighbor islands, and from as far away as California, New York and Florida. He received a donation of $5,000 from one individual — Randy Harris of Waialae Avenue — and $4,000 donations from his wife, Vicky, and 105 other individuals.
The former two-term Democratic governor also drew support, as expected, from rail opponents including Cliff Slater, and many of his former adminstration allies, such as former Attorney General Earl Anzai.
Carlisle, who served 14 years as Honolulu prosecutor, drew support from many attorneys and small-business owners, along with members of the current administration. Six donors each gave $4,000.
Caldwell has won endorsements from most of the public-sector unions, including two of the largest, the Hawaii Government Employees Association and the United Public Workers. That support was reflected in the list of those who gave to his campaign. He received donations of $4,000 from two dozen donors, including union political committees and individuals.
Carlisle raised about $600,000 in 2010 and won the September special election with a plurality of 38.8 percent of the vote in an eight-person field. Caldwell spent about $1.2 million and finished second with 34.6 percent of the vote.
A Star-Advertiser/Hawaii News Now poll in January showed Cayetano in the lead with 44 percent, followed by Carlisle at 35 percent and Caldwell favored by 16 percent of voters.
