Two days after leaving the hospital, former Gov. Ben Cayetano was back on the campaign trail Thursday — a campaign trolley, to be specific.
Meanwhile, former city Managing Director Kirk Caldwell planned a trolley tour of his own, while Mayor Peter Carlisle tried to work campaigning around a busy city work schedule.
The race could be decided in Saturday’s primary election if one receives more than 50 percent of the vote. If not, the top two have another 12 weeks of campaigning before facing off in the November general election.
Cayetano has the best shot at crossing the 50 percent threshold. He had 44 percent support in last month’s Hawaii Poll conducted for the Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now. Carlisle and Caldwell were in a statistical dead heat with 27 percent and 24 percent, respectively, with 4 percent who did not know or refused to answer.
Cayetano boarded a trolley to wave and thank scores of sign-wavers who packed around the Capitol district to show their support for the two-term former governor, who was released Tuesday from the Queen’s Medical Center after being treated for a bleeding ulcer. He was admitted Sunday.
He called the health concern "really a minor thing" that hasn’t slowed him down, adding that he is committed to seeing the campaign through to the end.
"I came out of retirement … because I really believe this is an important election," he said. "I didn’t need to run for mayor — I was once the governor. But the titles don’t matter to me."
Cayetano said he was pleased with how many people turned out to support him.
"It’s great," he said. "We had this planned sometime ago, and we targeted about 1,000 people — and from what I heard we got it, and we got a really nice mix of people."
Supporters lined Beretania Street from Punchbowl Street into downtown. Punchbowl acted as a political dividing line, with Caldwell supporters gathered on both sides of King Street in front of Honolulu Hale — although in smaller numbers — just feet from Cayetano supporters.
But that didn’t shake Caldwell.
"I just feel great about our guys," he said. "I feel real momentum. People are honking and waving, and it’s been like that for the past, you know, month — just building the momentum every single day everywhere we go all around the island.
"I feel very good, very confident," he said as Cayetano and a trolley full of supporters drove by him down King Street. "I think I’m going to finish very strong."
Caldwell planned his own trolley tour today starting at his campaign headquarters on Nimitz Highway before making its way to Kamehameha Shopping Center, Tamarind Park and downtown, the ‘Iolani School intersection and the Kapahulu Safeway, with sign-waving stops along the route.
Carlisle, among other city business, today is scheduled to attend a Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard apprentice graduation ceremony. Campaign activities include a major sign-waving effort from Punchbowl to Beretania during the afternoon drive time.
The mayor took time on Wednesday to cast his ballot by walk-in vote at Honolulu Hale, saying he hoped he would be able to vote for himself again in November.
"I think that the race is going forward in such a way that it will probably be carried on into November," he said. "If that’s true, I hope to be standing there.
"I think Ben is pretty sure to get in on this particular part because there’s a lot of people who are very, very aligned with his position, and I think the other people who are aligned against that position are sort of splitting the vote right now."
Cayetano is the only one opposed to the city’s planned $5.26 billion rail transit system.
