If Gov. David Ige and his advisers really think his low voter approval and perceived vulnerability are only because he hasn’t communicated his success, they could face a grim primary election night.
Voter worries about Ige’s listless direction since his 2014 upset of Gov. Neil Abercrombie appear real and deep.
On driving issues — homelessness, Honolulu rail, the Mauna Kea telescope — his leadership has been plodding to absent.
Ige’s leading opponent in next year’s Democratic primary, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, stands in formidable contrast as an accomplished lawmaker with a reputation as a doer.
Ige portrays himself in the “quiet but effective” mold of former Gov. George Ariyoshi, but Ariyoshi — his key supporter in 2014 — is disappointed in him and may back Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho if he runs, according to a Star-Advertiser report by Kevin Dayton.
Former Gov. Ben Cayetano, another 2014 Ige supporter, is backing Hanabusa, calling her “decisive … very intelligent — probably the smartest person in local politics today.”
In the Bizarro world of local Democratic politics, the only former governor backing Ige is John Waihee, who supported Abercrombie in 2014.
Waihee suggests all the modest Ige needs to change is to “talk more about what they’re doing,” but talk is unlikely to dissuade skeptical voters from what they see with their own eyes.
The governor has given homelessness diligent attention, but his cautious and piecemeal approach has produced unimpressive results as homeless seem more visible than ever, Kakaako makai is being swept for the umpteenth time and the once-beautiful shoreline park is closed indefinitely because of the trashing.
There’s no big plan or commitment of resources; promises to build 20,000 new affordable homes are little more than talk.
On Honolulu rail, instead of leading crucial negotiations on a controversial
$3 billion bailout, Ige disappeared as legislators fought with the city about costs and among themselves over how to pay.
His failure to offer clear guidance, indicating he’d sign whatever the Legislature passed, left many lawmakers regarding him with open contempt.
Ige briefly tried to mediate the dispute between
scientists and Native Hawaiians over the Thirty Meter Telescope, but ducked away saying he respected both sides after seeing the difficulty of the problem.
As perhaps the final showdown nears, we remain in a standoff on the festering community rift with little sense of how the governor will resolve it.
The closest Ige gets to excited is when talking about improving the flow of state paperwork — hardly a priority of most voters.
It’s not easy to topple an incumbent governor, and opponents treat Ige as a pushover at their peril.
But it’s his mistake if he thinks he can talk himself out of his troubles; his actions as a leader will speak louder than sound bites in the nine months before voters have their say.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.
