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Tommy Waters raises and spends more than Trevor Ozawa in City Council race

Gordon Y.K. Pang
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BRUCE ASATO / JAN. 15

Tommy Waters, left, and Trevor Ozawa in court after hearing arguments on Ozawa’s 22-vote victory for the Honolulu City Council District 4 seat in the 2018 general election.

Tommy Waters raised more and spent more than Trevor Ozawa through March 29 of their winner-take-all, third-round election dual for the Honolulu City Council District 4 seat.

Waters collected $289,368 and spent $230,365 while Ozawa listed $196,706 in receipts and $191,588 in expenditures, according to reports filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission Wednesday.

Both men have accused the other of gaining favor from special interests, but the list of donors for both candidates are chock-full of powerful organizations and individuals, including some who donated to both. For instance, various officers with PVT Land Co., the Waianae-based construction and demolition landfill, contributed equal sums to both candidates.

The candidate committee totals, however, do not include $101,668 spent by the union super PAC AiKea UNITE HERE to support Waters an oppose Ozawa, and $27,800 spent by the United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646 AFL-CIO, PAC to support Waters.

Ozawa, who held the Council seat through the end of 2018, won the November general election against Waters by 22 votes. Waters petitioned the Hawaii Supreme Court for a recount or do-over election. The court sided with him and invalidated the November election, noting that officials erred by picking up votes from the U.S. Post Office after 6 p.m. despite laws that say mail-in votes need to be in hand by 6 p.m. Because election officials said they did not have the capability to do a recount, the unprecedented special election was scheduled for April 13.

Council District 4 runs from Hawaii Kai to Ala Moana Park.

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