David Shapiro: Kai Kahele trips over his own hubris in late bid for governor

U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele has a catchy message in his run for governor: “Hawaii’s not for sale.” The question is whether he’s a credible messenger.

Kahele told the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program he won’t accept campaign donations of more than $100 and will refuse money from corporations, labor unions, political action committees and other special interests.

He pledged to “root out the money that is coming into Hawaii to influence and control our elections.”

“We shouldn’t have an election … an economy bought by special interests,” he declared.

His problem is he’s been a willing beneficiary of the pay-to-play system he now decries during four years in the Legislature and 16 months in Congress.

Kahele, who flies for Hawaiian Airlines in addition to his congressional post, accepted donations exceeding $1.7 million since 2019, the biggest from corporations, labor unions and PACs — $20,000 from the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, $18,000 from Matson Inc. and $15,000 each from the Air Line Pilots Association and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

He collected 166 PAC donations totaling nearly $300,000 from diverse lobbies such as lawyers, real estate developers, defense contractors and gambling interests. These donations continued through the first quarter of this year, while Kahele was mostly absent from Washington pondering his run for governor.

In eschewing such donations in the governor’s race, he seeks to make a virtue of a necessity.

He’s in the race late, can’t transfer his federal campaign funds to the state race, and most big donors have already committed to his Democratic opponents, Lt. Gov. Josh Green and businesswoman Vicki Cayetano.

When he ran for Congress, Kahele accused his predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard, of neglecting the job to run for president. He promised long and diligent service modeled after legendary pre-statehood delegate Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole.

On the Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii,” he explained his decision to bail after one term by saying he’d “evolved.” Now he’s comparing himself to the late Gov. John Burns, who returned to Hawaii to run for governor after one term in Congress during which he secured Hawaii’s statehood.

Earlier, Kahele explained his absence from Washington by saying he and his family didn’t like living there. Essentially, he’s leaving a job he promised a long-term commitment to seek a promotion to governor because it’s a better lifestyle choice.

He had his Oprah moment on “Spotlight Hawaii” when he cried as he proclaimed his love for Hawaii and his kids. The only thing missing was the hosts passing tissues through the split screen.

Whether or not his candidacy proves viable, Kahele’s aggressive style will serve the positive purpose of helping to force Green, who has a commanding lead in fundraising and public approval surveys, to answer tough questions about priorities and planned policies.

Nobody should be able to cruise into high office without a stern test at the polls — of both ideas and temperament.

But if Kahele hopes to seriously contend, he’ll have to cut the grandiose drama and make it about more than “me, myself and Kai.”

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.