Galuteria returns to politics with at-large OHA seat

A former state senator and onetime chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii completed his return to politics Tuesday by finishing first among six candidates vying for three at-large seats on the Board of Trustees at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Brickwood Galuteria, 66, won one of three at-large trustee positions after serving in the state Legislature from 2008 through 2018, representing Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kakaako, McCully and Moiliili. He touted his “decades of experience in public service, business and the arts” in response to an election questionnaire published July 8 in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

In a Star-Advertiser interview, Galuteria credited collaboration with former trustee Peter Apo for helping him make the decision to run.

“What’s good for Hawaiians is good for all of Hawaii,” said Galuteria, speaking after the first printout of results from the state Office of Elections on Tuesday. “What we’ve learned in the last decade in the (state) Senate we want to take to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.”

During his 10 years in the state Legislature, Galuteria served as vice chair of the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs and as a member of the Economic Development, Tourism, and Technology; Government Operations; and Ways and Means committees.

Incumbent John D. Wai­hee IV, 51, finished second and held on to his seat.

Incumbent Leinaala Ahu Isa, 69, finished fourth, clearing the way for first-time, at-large trustee Keoni Souza.

Souza, a 2002 graduate of Kamehameha Schools, is a Honolulu Realtor who also once worked as a a flight attendant, musician and stevedore.

Souza, in an interview with the Star-Advertiser, said he told his kids, who helped him wave signs and campaign, that their effort was a “testament to hard work.”

“We are super, super stoked,” said Souza, speaking after reviewing the early results. “The Hawaiian people are left behind, and we don’t want to leave anyone behind. We want to uplift each other and move forward. If I didn’t run for office … things would be OK … (but) there is always more that we can do. That’s why I decided to run.”

Waihee has served as an at-large trustee since 2000 and is the son of former Gov. John Waihee.

On Hawaii island, incumbent attorney Mililani B. Trask topped challenger Hope A. Cermelj, who campaigned largely on the issue of reducing the waitlist for Hawaiian home lands.

Trask is an attorney who was appointed to serve as the Hawaii island trustee on Feb. 24 after Keola Lindsey resigned. For more than 30 years, she has served as executive director of The Gibson Foundation, a nonprofit founded to help Hawaiians become homeowners.

During her first term, Trask supported an inventory of ceded lands to identify income-generating resources to support affordable housing for Hawaiian home lands beneficiaries.

Former University of Hawaii and Canadian Football League star Chad Owens, 40, finished fifth and attorney Sam Kalanikupua King, 38, sixth on the general election ballot.

In the August primary, Galuteria, a former chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii and a longtime radio and television personality who started at KCCN in 1980, was the top-vote getter with 92,028 votes, or 17.3%.

Waihee finished second with 80,491 votes and Ahu Isa third with 69,639 votes.

Incumbent OHA Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey ran unopposed in the August primary for the Maui seat and was automatically reelected. Her name did not appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Oahu trustee Kalei Akaka also easily won reelection during the August primary by taking more than 50% of the vote.