Hawaii wrapped up a tense political week marked by a remarkable weakening in the relationship between the Legislature’s Democrats and Gov. David Ige.

There also was the loss of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, the state freshman House Democrat, who passed away at the age of 49.

Takai was the genial, warm sort who naturally took to politics without being consumed by its passions. The departure opens a path for the more rapid-than-first-expected return of former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa to Capitol Hill. Hanabusa, however, faces opposition in both the primary and general elections.

Takai’s death came on a day that also would be marked by the first open break between Ige and his legislative allies, as they overrode his veto of Senate Bill 2077.

During GOP Gov. Linda Lingle’s eight years, Democrats routinely overrode scores of her vetoes, but Democrats overriding a Democratic governor usually is too much a loss of face to be considered.

So last week’s overriding of a controversial veto of the bill to aid the Maui hospital privatization with increased public worker payments was a big blow.

In his veto message, Ige argued that the actual number of state hospital workers impacted was slight.

“I understand only 191 out of 1,233 employees exercised reduction-in-force rights during the HHSC-initiated RIF process in February of this year. I also understand that by the middle of May of this year Kaiser had offered jobs to 1,538 HHSC Maui Region civil service and exempt employees, irrespective of whether they were included in a collective bargaining unit or worked for the state for less than a year, and more than 95 percent of the employees had accepted,” Ige wrote.

“This suggests to me that a substantial number, if not the majority, of HHSC’s Maui Region employees might not have to face economic hardships to the degree that prompted the Legislature to consider and pass the current bill,” Ige said.

One longtime House Democrat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me last week that Democrats in a rapidly approaching election year are jittery.

The special veto override session comes after what legislators say appears to be dithering and indecisive gubernatorial action on the Mauna Kea telescope issue, which is added to the homeless crisis, and the mixed-message ending to Hawaiian Electric’s failed merger with NextEra.

“We don’t feel the impact of the governor on any of this,” another House Democrat told me. “Where is he?”

A governor lacking communications skills is not the end of the world, but when the troops fear their leader doesn’t have their back, the whole Democratic machine wobbles.

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