Fundraising heats up in congressional race

With less than four months until the primary election, three candidates vying for the U.S. House seat representing urban Honolulu raised more than $200,000 each in the first three months of the year.

Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernie Martin, who reported raising no funds in the previous quarter, collected $267,000 from Jan. 1 to March 31, according to federal campaign finance reports. That’s the highest amount for the three-month period among the race’s five Democratic candidates.

Also raising more than $200,000 were veteran lawmaker state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and Lt. Gov. Doug Chin. Other contenders in the race are state Rep. Kaniela Ing, who raised $92,761 for the quarter, and state Rep. Beth Fukumoto, who announced her run one day before the fundraising deadline and did not report any financial activity.

A recent poll by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser found Kim and Chin in a near tie for the the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who is running for governor. The poll of likely Democratic primary voters in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District found 32 percent in favor of Kim, compared with 29 percent for Chin. Thirty-one percent said they were undecided.

Martin attracted 6 percent of voters polled, while Ing got 2 percent of voters in the poll. Fukumoto did not enter the race in time to be included in the poll.

Among the big donors to Martin, who recently returned to power as the City Council’s chairman, were engineering and development company executives. His top donors included:

>> Planning and engineering firm R.M. Towill Corp. executives Greg Hiyakumoto ($5,400), David Tanoue ($5,400), Keith Kurahashi ($5,400) and Collins Lam ($4,000).

>> Contractor Nan Shin ($5,400) of Nan Inc.

>> Dale Evans ($4,000) of Charley’s Taxi.

>> Developer Stanford Carr ($4,000).

Under Federal Election Commission rules, contributions by individuals to federal candidates are capped at $2,700 per election, for primary and general elections. Donors can contribute toward the general election in advance.

Martin reported spending $14,124 for the quarter and ended the filing period with $252,889 in cash on hand.

Kim (D, Kalihi Valley­-Moanalua-Halawa), meanwhile, reported raising more than $228,000 in campaign contributions for the quarter, bringing her fundraising total to $400,746 for the election cycle — the race’s highest overall total to date. She reported spending $17,900 for the quarter and ended the filing period with $380,500 in cash on hand.

Among Kim’s larger donors were:

>> Developer Everett Dowling ($5,400).

>> Real estate executive Leighton Mau ($5,400).

>> Retired banker Don Horner ($5,200).

>> Attorney Mitchell Imanaka ($3,000).

>> Lobbyist Bruce Coppa ($2,000).

Former state attorney general Chin, who in February accepted the vacated lieutenant governor position, raised $219,641 in contributions for the quarter, bringing to $247,176 his total donations for the election. Chin reported spending $69,100 for the three-month period, leaving $178,062 remaining in cash on hand.

Larger donors to Chin’s campaign included:

>> Navatek Ltd. executives Martin Kao ($5,400), Eric Schiff ($2,700) and Michael Schmicker ($2,700).

>> Philanthropists Bill Reeves ($5,400) and Debbie Berger ($5,400).

>> Attorneys Christian Adams ($2,700) and Margery Bronster ($2,700).

Ing (D, South Maui), meanwhile, reported raising $92,761 in contributions for the quarter, bringing his fundraising total to $175,518 for the election cycle. He reported spending $51,894 for the quarter and ended the filing period with $100,457 in cash on hand.

Most of Ing’s donations were for smaller amounts. Larger donors included Maui immigration attorney Kevin Block ($1,000), Jeffrey Bronfman with Aurora Investments ($1,000) and AECOM executive Richard Fernandez ($1,000).