Andria Tupola, Calvin Say lead Council candidates in campaign spending

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STAR-ADVERTISER

Andria Tupola

Two candidates for Honolulu City Council who have extensive political track records are the ones collecting and spending the most, according to financial reports filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission last week.

Former state Rep. Andria Tupola’s campaign committee has received $316,436 since Nov. 7, 2018, the start of the latest election cycle, and she’s spent $277,620, both significantly more than anyone else running for a City Council seat.

Five nonpartisan Oahu Council seats are up for grabs in Saturday’s primary election.

Tupola ran unsuccessfully for governor as the Republican nominee in 2018, and appeared to be driving toward a 2022 governor’s race until February, when she shifted gears and announced she would run for the Council District 1 seat that stretches from Ewa Beach to the Waianae Coast.

So a good amount of the money that her campaign has raised and spent was actually as a gubernatorial candidate.

The Council candidate who’s had the second-most money to campaign with is state Rep. Calvin Say, who is running for the District 5 Council seat (Kaimuki-Makiki) after 44 years as a member of the House. Say’s campaign reported $107,698 in receipts since November 2018, and $105,983 in expenditures.

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At the beginning of the election cycle, Say’s campaign committee had $54,194, so it had a good head start. By contrast, Tupola started the period with $8,104.

In this, the state’s first all-mail election, some 457,000 Oahu voters were sent ballots and more than 155,000 ballot envelopes have been collected by the city Elections Division as of end of day Monday. Any first-place finisher who receives more than 50% of the votes cast wins a seat outright, eliminating the need for a November runoff. Otherwise, the top two finishers move on to a head-to-head match in the general election.

The Council candidate who’s raised the third-highest amount of contributions is first-time candidate Alan Kekoa Texeira, whose campaign reported $103,484 in contributions and $95,073 in expenditures since jumping into the fight for the District 3 Council seat (Windward Oahu) in February 2019.

Texeira, deputy chief of staff to Council Chairman Ikaika Anderson, has received a good amount of contributions from various unions and other organizations.

Here’s a summary of how the candidates are faring on the campaign financing front in each of the races:

>> District 1: Tupola is far outraising and outspending the other four candidates in the race. Among those supporting the campaign of the former state representative: the General Contractors Association ($4,000), the Plumbers and Pipefitters PAC ($4,000), the Operating Engineers Local Union ($4,000), PVT Land Co. owner Albert Shigemura ($2,500); and Friends of Kymberly Pine ($4,000).

The campaign committee of Anthony Makana Paris, a research analyst for the Hawaii Ironworkers Stabilization Fund, president of the Prince Kuhio Hawaiian Civic Club and the nephew of longtime union leader T. George Paris, has collected $53,600 and spent $39,467. Among his biggest supporters: the DRIVE Committee, the Washington, D.C.-based PAC for the national Teamsters union ($4,000) and OnPoint LLC ($3,800).

Retired Air Force Maj. Kathy Davenport, a small business owner and one-time aide to incumbent Kym Pine, reported that her campaign has collected $8,469 and spent $5,593.

>> District 3: Texeira is the head of the pack of six candidates.

Among his campaign’s top contributors are the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters ($4,000), the Hawaii Laborers PAC ($4,000), the Operating Engineers Local 3 ($4,000), the Hawaii Carpenters PAC $(4,000), Friends of Ikaika Anderson ($4,000), Friends of Tommy Waters ($2,000), Friends of Brandon Elefante ($1,000) and Friends of Ann Kobayashi ($500).

The campaign showing the second-most activity in the race is that of business owner and builder Greg Thielen, the son of state Rep. Cynthia Thielen and brother of state Sen. Laura Thielen. Greg Thielen’s campaign has collected $66,007 and spent $22,475. Cynthia Thielen donated $4,000 to the campaign. Neither of the incumbent Thielens are seeking reelection.

The campaign committee for Esther Kiaaina, executive director of the Pacific Basin Development Council and an assistant secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama, has collected $37,535 and spent $17,355. Those numbers include $6,654 in loans Kiaaina has made to her campaign. Other donors included the Ironworkers for Better Government ($4,000), the SHOPO PAC ($4,000), the Plumbers and Fitters UA Local 675 ($4,000); and business owner Jennifer Sabas ($1,000), the one-time chief aide to the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye.

>> District 5: Say’s campaign committee contributions come from a who’s who of the labor and construction industry communities. They also include lobbyist Red Morris ($4,000), Friends of Ken Ito ($4,000), Friends of Joey Manahan ($4,000), Friends of Robert Bunda ($4,000), Friends of Ikaika Anderson ($2,000) and Friends of Tommy Waters ($1,000).

Chief opponent Dave Watase, a retired engineer who emerged as a community leader when he founded the Stop Ala Wai Project web site, reported that his campaign received $31,878 and spent $22,907. Contributions include $4,000 from Friends of Ann Kobayashi.

>> District 7 (Kalihi to Foster Village): In the fight among three first-time candidates who all have roots in Kalihi, Radiant Cordero, chief of staff to Manahan, is emerging as the candidate who’s raised the most ($92,384) and spent the most ($75,641).

The campaign of Jacob Aki, chief of staff to state Sen. J. Kalani English, reported $83,914 in contributions and $53,816 in expenditures, while educator Ryan Mandado’s campaign reported $24,901 in contributions and $16,434 in expenditures.

>> District 9 (Mililani to Ewa Beach): In another intriguing three-way race, first-time candidate Earl Tsuneyoshi has done best so far. A major in the National Guard who works in real estate and is the brother-in-law of District 2 Councilwoman Heidi Tsuneyoshi, his campaign reported $69,790 in contributions and $59,528 in expenditures.

Former state Sen. Will Espero’s report shows his campaign is not too far behind. It received $67,740 and spent $64,070. Espero is seeking a return to elective office after running unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor two years ago. Comedian and businessman Augie Tulba, a first-time candidate, reported his campaign has raised $55,234 and spent $54,743.