Gubernatorial rivals wield big clubs in budget talks

There is some confusing fallout from state Sen. David Ige’s announced run for governor in the Democratic primary next year.

Ige, a Pearl City Democrat, is chairman of the Senate’s most powerful committee, Ways and Means (WAM). Every piece of legislation dealing with state money goes through this committee.

All ideas about raising and lowering taxes, spending or not spending money and every line in the budget submitted by Gov. Neil Abercrombie go to Ige’s committee.

Legislators usually take their cue on how to vote on a bill from the recommendation of the committee’s chair. They don’t follow blindly, but thumbs up or down from the chair most of the time decides a bill’s fate.

Ige appears now to be both running WAM and his campaign to become governor. This will get complicated really fast.

Democratic senators, who asked not to be named, worry the 2014 legislative session will have a new twist with Abercrombie submitting his budget to the person who wants to put him out of office.

Any governor campaigns by larding the budget with campaign goodies. Fulfilling campaign promises via the budget is one of the most powerful advantages of incumbency. Letting your primary opponent in on deciding how to craft the final budget is bound to raise an eyebrow or two.

"There are going to be things in the budget because it is an election year. How will they decide what will be included?" said one Democrat.

"I would say it will be a little uncomfortable," said another senator.

This year Ige and his House counterpart, Rep. Sylvia Luke, fashioned a budget pleasing enough to all sides that not only was it finished before the internal deadlines, but everyone in both the House and Senate voted for it, an unheard-of bit of bonhomie.

If Ige were to draft a state budget that upsets both Abercrombie and Abercrombie loyalists in the Senate, it would be the road to chaos.

What it does, said another senator, is create "two executive branches."

While senators praised Ige as someone who has kept the most obvious political ploys out of the budget, there is recognition that it is human nature to look for opportunities for yourself.

And it is also human nature for others to suspect your motives.

Ige did not respond to calls and emails seeking clarification, and other Democrats have said there is no indication that Ige would step down from leading WAM or suggest not handling the Abercrombie budget.

Ige’s future as WAM chairman adds another strange problem for the Senate.

The Senate is not one happy family; it is a group of factions, all looking for power. Ige’s position as WAM chairman helped balance out the various groups.

"There is a gentle, delicate balance between the factions. If Ige left, it could force major changes in the Senate," said one senator.

Senate President Donna Mercado Kim has been out of state while most of this unfolded, but it will be up to her to both balance the Senate’s collection of egos and smooth out relations with the Abercrombie administration.

Or as one Senate veteran explained: "If we alienate each other or the fifth floor (administration), it is going to be just too crazy for words."

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