Steve Alm, a former U.S. Attorney and Circuit Court judge, is the preferred choice to be Honolulu’s next prosecutor, with support from 24% of registered voters participating in the Honolulu Star- Advertiser Hawaii Poll.

Alm was followed by Deputy Public Defender Jacquie Esser, whose campaign commercials demand fair treatment in the criminal justice system; and former Deputy Prosecutor Megan Kau, who worked in the Career Criminal Division of the Prosecutor’s Office where she tried violent cases including murder and sex assaults.

Both Esser and Kau — who represent opposite sides of the criminal justice system — attracted an identical 17% of registered voters’ preference in the poll.

In a crowded field of seven candidates, a plurality of registered voters — 30% — were undecided on who they want to be Honolulu’s next prosecutor. Of those who were undecided, 35% were Republicans and 38% are independents.

The Hawaii Poll, conducted for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser July 20-22 by telephone by Mason- Dixon Polling & Strategy of Washington, D.C., included 400 likely primary voters on Oahu. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Acting Prosecutor Dwight Nadamoto generated support from only 2% of respondents.

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Nadamoto took over the Prosecutor’s Office in 2019 after Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro went on a paid leave of absence when the U.S. Department of Justice notified him that he was a target in the criminal investigation involving former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kea­loha and his wife Katherine Kea­loha, one of Kaneshiro’s deputies.

The Kealohas and two Honolulu Police Department officers await sentencing after a federal jury found them guilty of conspiracy and obstruction last year. The case started as a bogus mailbox theft allegation by the Kealohas against Katherine Kealoha’s estranged uncle but exposed a wider effort to defraud Katherine Kealoha’s grandmother through a botched reverse-mortgage scheme.

Nadamoto had been a deputy prosecutor under Kaneshiro and previously served as a state deputy attorney general.

In November, Nadamoto confirmed that he received a subpoena from federal officials requesting he appear at a court proceeding, but declined to offer specifics. “I embrace the opportunity given to me by the federal government to assist them in any way I can to help in this investigation,” Nadamoto said at the time.

Hawaii Poll participant Andrea Bell, 74, of Kailua, said she does not want the next city prosecutor to have had anything to do with the office because it’s “tainted by the corruption. It had to be going on a long time yet nobody brought it to the public’s attention.”

“We need a clean sweep,” Bell said. “We really need somebody who will put the Prosecutor’s Office on an even keel.”

In 2004, Alm created HOPE Probation, the nation’s first pilot program to reduce probation violations by drug offenders and others at high risk of recidivism, according to the state Judiciary.

Bell attended HOPE Probation sessions that were presided over by then-Judge Alm on behalf of the parents of a HOPE participant.

“I spent several days over the course of a month,” Bell said. “I was very impressed with the way he (Alm) handled a variety of cases. He was compassionate but very fair, stern when he needed to be. He was just very impressive. He seemed more of a centrist.”

But Frank Lohman, 71, of Waipahu, prefers Esser — the deputy public defender who talks about fair treatment in the criminal justice system.

Lohman said he read about the candidates and listened to some of them speak. “A few were not even aware of what the issues were,” Lohman said.

Lohman said Esser seemed candid with her answers, especially regarding “prejudices and discrimination. That hit home.”

“Her first approach is that she’s open with identifying a problem that’s been systemic with the Prosecutor’s Office,” he said. “The obvious thing is we need to have visibility. She has a candid approach.”

Esser and Kau are statistically even in their support from men: 14% for Esser; 13% for Kau; and from women: 20% for Esser, 21% for Kau.

But of all seven candidates, Esser gets the plurality of support from Democrats — 26%.

Alm, however, gets the plurality of Republican support among all candidates — 35% versus 21% preference from Democrats.

He also enjoys a plurality of 19% support from independents.

While Alm has a similar 20% preference from women, like both Esser and Kau, a plurality of 28% of male voters prefer Alm.

Cher Sullivan, 64, of Hawaii Kai, also plans to vote for city prosecutor but just like a plurality of 30% of registered voters, she remains undecided until she can do more research before casting her ballot for the Aug. 8 primary election.

“I have no idea about any of them,” Sullivan said. “We just seem to recycle the same old stuff (candidates).”

Honolulu mayoral race poll by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd