Open City Council races see many newcomers seeking office

With only one incumbent seeking reelection in the four Honolulu City Council races in this year’s election, ballots for the Aug. 13 primary will be crowded with newcomers to the political scene.

Oahu voters will elect Council members in Districts 2, 4, 6 and 8. Candidates can win outright in the primary if they collect 50% of the votes plus one. If that doesn’t happen, the two candidates with the highest vote totals in each race will advance to the general election on Nov. 8. If there are only two candidates running for a Council seat, which is the case in District 4, they will square off only during the general election.

Given that Council races are nonpartisan, candidates don’t have to identify with a political party. That means conservative-leaning candidates who might normally run as Republicans stand to fare better than candidates vying for state office, where Democrats dominate, said Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii’s Public Policy Center.

“Because they’re nonpartisan, in some ways that makes them much more competitive,” Moore said. “And actually, more conservative candidates do pretty well in Council races compared to general races, when they have to put an ‘R’ next to their name, which is sort of the kiss of death in Hawaii politics.”

One-third of the Council’s current nine members can be described as conservative-leaning. In comparison, only five of the 76 state legislators are Republicans.

In nonpartisan races, name recognition is critical to success at the polls. John Hart, a Hawaii Pacific University professor in the Arts, Communication, Languages and Media Department, said, “A lot of times these people have to run two, three times until they build up some sort of name recognition.” He added, “The key is not to run so many times and lose that you get the ‘L’ brand on your head.”

Here’s a breakdown of the four Council races:

District 2: Royal Kunia, Wahiawa, along North Shore to Kahaluu

With five candidates competing for the District 2 seat, it is one of the most competitive and features candidates with varied backgrounds, Moore said. The district covers the North Shore and portions of Kaneohe and Mililani Mauka.

Among the candidates are professional surfer Makuakai Rothman and Chad Tsuneyoshi, former husband of current Council member Heidi Tsune­yoshi, who is running for governor as a Republican.

“Someone’s ex-spouse running for their office — you don’t see that very often,” Moore said, adding that Rothman’s presence on the North Shore surf scene might give him an edge. “When you have a celebrity in the race … name recognition alone, I think, will make him a competitive candidate.”

Chad Tsuneyoshi owns Pacific Marketing & Consulting, which did campaign work for former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and former Council member Trevor Ozawa.

Rothman’s campaign website does not reflect any political experience, but focuses on improving public safety, community engagement and mental health issues.

Both candidates come with some baggage, as Chad Tsune­yoshi was convicted in 1999 for his involvement in a cocaine trafficking ring. Rothman’s father, Eddie Rothman, came to prominence as leader of Da Hui, a North Shore group of surfers and others that had a reputation for hostile and sometimes violent tactics aimed at intimidating outsiders.

“It may be that those two candidates just are unacceptable to a lot of people,” Moore said.

“They’re looking for kind of a mainstream alternative. And that’s where someone with less written name recognition but who comes from a more traditional background … that kind of provides them an opening to move on to the general.”

Matt Weyer, who has held positions as a domestic violence prosecutor and a City Council policy adviser, is a candidate who could fit that role, according to Moore.

“If he can kind of present himself as a mainstream, broadly acceptable candidate, which I think is the strategy, that’s a path to victory for him,” Moore said.

Weyer’s campaign is focusing on affordable housing, employment, city infrastructure and environmental sustainability.

North Shore Neighborhood Board member Racquel Achiu is also a candidate, and is running on issues that include support for agriculture, public safety and tourism management.

Lupe Funaki, a Laie Community Association board member, was formerly the administrative assistant to a deputy prime minister in Tonga. The mother of 11 is focusing her campaign on affordable housing, sustainability and community engagement.

District 4: Waikiki through Kaimuki to Hawaii Kai

The only race with an incumbent is in District 4.

Council Chair Tommy Waters’ sole challenger is Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board member Kaleo Nakoa.

Because there are only two candidates, both will advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

Waters’ campaign is focusing on housing, public safety and sustainability. Nakoa recently received media attention for opposing mask mandates for public school students during a Board of Education meeting.

District 6: Downtown through Nuuanu and Kalihi Valley

Seven candidates — the most in any Council race — will appear on the ballot for the open District 6 seat, which stretches from the Makiki, downtown, Nuuanu and Punchbowl areas to Moanalua and Aiea. Current Council member Carol Fukunaga has reached her term limit and is running for a state Senate seat in District 11.

Two of the candidates — Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and Ikaika Hussey — previously ran for the seat in 2018 but were defeated by Fukunaga.

Other candidates with potential name recognition are local musician Nalani Jenkins and Traci Toguchi, a former Miss Hawaii.

“That’s just going to be a very difficult race to predict and probably one where money is likely to be a very decisive factor” in developing standout campaigns, Moore said.

Dos Santos-Tam and Hussey are the top fundraisers, according to the latest campaign spending reports, which show Dos Santos-­ Tam had raised $38,551 as of Dec. 31 and Hussey, $10,049. The next spending reports are due Thursday.

Dos Santos-Tam is former chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and former director of the Hawaii Construction Alliance, which lobbies on behalf of builders and several labor unions. His campaign is spotlighting homelessness, crime and infrastructure.

Hussey was a labor organizer for Unite Here Local 5, the union representing hospitality workers and nurses, and is CEO and founder of Hawaii Federated Industries, an organization focused on workforce development and fighting climate change. The priority issues of his campaign are homelessness, housing and “modernizing urban development.”

Jenkins is best known as one of the founding members of Na Leo Pilimehana but also is the president of 721, a communications and marketing firm. Her campaign’s main focus is crime.

Toguchi, who has held positions within city and state government, is centering her campaign on crime, housing and improving transportation.

Others in the District 6 race include Chad Toshiro Wolke, an aide to U.S. Rep. Ed Case and former member of the Liliha/Puunui/Alewa Heights Neighborhood Board. His priority issues are government accountability, crime and homelessness.

Chance K. Naauao-Ota, secretary of the Liliha/Puunui/Alewa/Kam Heights Neighborhood Board, is focusing on cost of living, support for local businesses and infrastructure.

District 8: Pearl City through Mililani

With current Council member Brandon Elefante hitting his term limit and running for a state Senate seat, the race in the district running from lower Aiea to Waipio Gentry and portions of Waipahu is wide open. Of the five candidates, two are likely familiar to voters.

Val Okimoto is currently the Republican minority leader of the state House of Representatives.

Ron Menor previously served as a Council member for District 9 but reached his term limit in 2019. His Mililani mailing address was moved into District 8 after the latest reapportionment process.

Menor’s campaign is focused on improving infrastructure, affordable housing, homelessness and supporting city services.

Okimoto is leaving the Legislature to pursue the Council seat, campaigning on housing, “community building” and economic development.

Sizing up the District 8 candidates, Moore said, “Elefante is one of the more liberal members of the Council, and it looks like there’s not really a liberal in this race. Menor is kind of a centrist, and Okimoto obviously is a conservative.”

Keone Simon, another candidate in District 8, has used District 1 Council member Andria Tupola, a Republican candidate for governor in 2018, as a paid political consultant, indicating he might share her conservative leanings. Rothman, running in District 2, also paid Tupola for political consulting.

In 2020, Simon ran for District 34 state representative as a Republican but lost to Democrat Gregg Takayama. He coaches Pop Warner football and plans to focus on reducing cost of living, homelessness and public safety if elected.

Charmaine Doran, a member of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board, lists infrastructure improvements, addressing corruption and expanding government transparency as her priorities.

Fellow Pearl City Neighborhood Board member Dion Mesta, who serves as the board’s vice chair, also is running for the District 8 Council seat. His campaign focus is affordable housing, homelessness and improving public transportation.

Hart said it’s possible the outcome of these four races could shift the Council’s overall political makeup toward a more conservative bent.

“In the past, Republicans have found success by relabeling themselves as Democrats,” he said. “I think since the (nonpartisan) election of Mayor Rick Blangiardi, they have taken that as a strategy and run for City Council where they can run as not affiliated, without a party designation.”

Still, Hart pointed out that the Council is often at odds with the mayor, regardless of their respective political viewpoints.

As the primary election approaches, Moore said he expects to see Council candidates addressing the city’s challenges tied to housing and rising prices as well as issues related to crime, environmental concerns and tourism.

“I think there’s just a lot of frustration with tourism, and so ways they think the city can manage it better, I’m sure it will be up there,” he said.

Rather than big environmental issues like climate change, Moore said, “People are much more conscious of … local issues like Red Hill and water quality.”

Voters can expect to receive their mail-in ballots for the primary election by July 26.