Hawaii County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi, who has endured a firestorm of criticism for her handing of the primary election, admits she has made errors but promises to press ahead and ensure the general election Nov. 6 goes smoothly.
"I apologize for my mistakes," she said in an extensive interview at the Star-Advertiser offices last week. "I will accept responsibility but I cannot accept complete responsibility."
Kawauchi wouldn’t elaborate on who else might be to blame for the missteps and irregularities that led to 13 precincts opening late Aug. 11. That in turn caused the governor to issue a proclamation to extend the county’s voting hours by 90 minutes, resulting in a statewide delay in the release of initial election results.
"I’ve said it was a disaster," said Kawauchi, a 39-year-old lawyer who has gone from obscurity to infamy in a few short weeks.
A native of Naalehu, Kawauchi graduated from Kamehameha Schools and earned a bachelor’s degree at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. After receiving her law degree from the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, she worked as a clerk for Hawaii island Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura.
She held administrative jobs at the medical school and law school at Harvard University from 2000 to 2004, then returned to Hawaii to practice law. She was appointed to the county clerk’s position in December 2010 by council Chairman Dominic Yagong.
While her office oversees the county elections office, Kawauchi herself had no election experience before this year.
"I feel that I’m at one of the hardest points of leadership," she said. "What requires more leadership in me is asking for help in the face of humiliation, but it doesn’t mean I wasn’t asking for help before."
She admits to being "incredibly independent" and "very direct" in her management style, which also has come under scrutiny.
"I say what needs to be done and move in," she said, adding, "In government, people don’t like to change. I’m always looking for the better answer, the best one."
And she said she also recognizes now the need to be accessible and open.
"I find myself to be pretty competent," she said. "What’s hard is to stay in the job and to try to be a leader … to meet up with your responsibilities, to love the people you work for and the people who don’t love you back."
One of Kawauchi’s harshest critics is Councilman Dennis Onishi of Hilo, who has asked her to step down. He says people come up to him and urge the Council to do something about the clerk.
"People are having no confidence in the elections," he said, "but what can we do?"
Onishi has put a resolution on Wednesday’s agenda urging Kawauchi to hire someone with several years of election experience.
"She doesn’t know how to run an election," he said.
"I think she’s too proud."
Despite Kawauchi’s assurances that her office will be prepared for the upcoming general election, Onishi has his doubts. Before the primary, he said, she insisted everything was fine.
"I don’t know if you can believe that," he said. "The main thing is, I want the people of the Big Island to have a fair election."
Kawauchi is clearly still smarting from the harsh criticism for closing the Hilo Elections Office for a day to complete an audit in July.
Rather, she said, she feels she should have been praised for her diligence in poring over the voter registration rolls to ensure an accurate list. The audit revealed four people voted twice in 2010, which she reported to the attorney general’s office as possible voter fraud.
Despite calls for her resignation or removal and sharp criticism from many, including former Gov. Linda Lingle and the League of Women Voters, she said she has no intention of quitting and is more resolved than ever to work toward a good general election.
"We’re just doing everything we can to make sure we don’t have a repeat of the last primary," she said.
Toward that end, Kawauchi has been conducting meetings with the county’s precinct workers, officials, troubleshooters and others to discuss what happened on primary day and what can be improved.
She said the state has committed to providing more precinct workers for Hawaii County. She said she has learned a lot and continues to look for solutions, including introducing ways to make everyone more accountable.
Last week she attended one of the state’s election workshops.
"I believe my interactions with the state and other counties are improving," she said.
But Kawauchi still feels she was made a scapegoat for the trouble during the primary.
"If the state model is to roll you over and blame you and throw you out the door when the going gets tough, what does that say to the entry-level person?" she said.
Her staff took all the criticism especially hard, she said.
"The way I’ve been treated in the press … they found what was reported as being so painful that they wanted to leave the state," Kawauchi said. "I told them, ‘Please don’t go, because I’m not leaving.’"
Meanwhile, state Elections Commission Chairman Bill Marston said he has decided not to launch a special investigation into the primary as requested by the League of Women Voters.
"We as a commission felt that to do anything at this time to cause more friction would not be healthy for having a good election," he said. "This state ranks last in all the 50 states in voter turnout, and that’s sad. The commission would love to see that improve."
The deadline to register to vote is Monday.
