A special election to determine successor

The state Office of Elections plans to hold a special election in conjunction with the Nov. 8 general election to decide who will serve out the last two months of the unfinished term of the late U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, according to a spokeswoman for the office.

Politically speaking, that special election appears to present an opportunity for former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa to make a run to represent the urban Honolulu House district a bit earlier than expected. Hanabusa could not be reached Wednesday to confirm whether she plans to run in the special election.

Takai announced earlier this year that he would not run for re-election in November because his pancreatic cancer had spread. He had intended to serve out his term, which ends Jan. 3, but his unexpected death in Honolulu on Wednesday created a vacancy that triggered the special election.

The winner of that election will immediately take office to fill out Takai’s unfinished term, said Nedielyn Bueno, voter services section head for the Office of Elections.

Elections officials are drafting a proclamation to be signed by Gov. David Ige and Chief Election Officer Scott Nago later this month or early next month to formally announce the special election. That proclamation will create a filing period for candidates that will begin shortly after the Aug. 13 primary and last at least 10 days, Bueno said.

Elections officials are still planning the details of the special election, including whether it would be presented to voters on a separate ballot or combined on a ballot with other issues.

Dan Boylan, emeritus professor of history at the University of Hawaii at West Oahu, said Hanabusa could win that special election easily if she chooses to run. “My guess is that Colleen will run,” Boylan said, adding that she has high name recognition, the ability to raise money and can quickly assemble a campaign organization.

The Republicans failed to field a well-known candidate for the general election race, “and the Democrats, I think, by and large feel that it’s hers, she has too much oomph,” he said.

Longtime Honolulu columnist Jerry Burris said that anyone who is interested in the congressional seat has likely geared up and already filed for the regular election contest. For those candidates, it would be a relatively small matter to follow up and file for the special election.

On the other hand, anyone who runs in the special election who did not also file for the regular election would at best end up as a placeholder in the seat for two months.

The candidates who have filed to run for the regular election for the seat include Democrats Hanabusa, Lei Ahu Isa, Howard Kim, Javier Ocasio, Sam Puletasi, Lei Sharsh-Davis and Steve Tataii.

Shirlene Ostrov filed as a Republican; Alan Yim filed as a Libertarian; and Calvin Griffin filed as a nonpartisan candidate for the seat.