2 Hawaii Senate Republicans tangled in power struggle

Republicans added two House seats and doubled their Senate seats from one to two to start the legislative session, but an opening day power struggle between the two GOP senators raises questions about the party’s ability to challenge Democratic control of the Legislature.

The showdown between Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe- Iroquois Point) and freshman Sen. Brenton Awa (R, Kaneohe-Laie-Mokuleia) echoes the 2020 leadership stalemate among the then-four House Republicans: Gene Ward; Lauren Matsumoto; Bob McDermott, who lost a long-shot bid to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in November; and Val Okimoto, who in 2022 won election to the Honolulu City Council.

In both the 2020 and current leadership challenges, there was and remains an even number of candidates in both the House and Senate for minority leader, meaning no Republican swing vote can break a tie.

The 2020 House stalemate finally ended in late February when House Speaker Scott Saiki, a Democrat, threatened to pick the Republicans’ leader himself.

“We suddenly all got highly motivated to settle because we would never allow a Democrat leader to pick the Republican leader,” Ward (R, Hawaii Kai-Kalama Valley) wrote Thursday in a text to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Ward withdrew his candidacy on the House floor “in favor of a new generation of leaders for the Republican Caucus,” leading the way for Rep. Matsumoto (R, Mililani- Waipio Acres-Mililani Mauka) to become House minority leader, a title she still holds as the 32nd Legislature began Wednesday.

Fevella is officially listed as Senate minority leader and Awa as minority floor leader.

But in a two-sentence letter to the Senate clerk dated Tuesday on the eve of the opening day of the Legislature, Awa wrote “that I have rescinded my vote for Senator Kurt Fevella as Minority Leader.”

Fevella did not imme­diately respond to multiple requests for comment Wednesday and Thursday.

Awa gave no explanation for rescinding his vote in his letter, but told the Star-Advertiser on Thursday that “it’s not anything juicy like he did something. It’s basically a disagreement with leadership and how our minority is led. Me and Kurt have to hash out leadership and what is the purpose. I’m not one to sit on the bus and not know where we’re going. If I don’t know where we’re going, how am I going to support where we’re going? … It wasn’t that I’m … trying to be the leader. I don’t want to be the minority leader but I couldn’t be the co- pilot without direction.”

Since the November election, Awa said, he has been working for two months at the Capitol.

“I just wake up every day and pray to God to let me do the right things,” he said. “If he (Fevella) comes around, we’ll talk and hopefully move forward and be better for this.”

Awa worries about the optics of the moment to the public.

“They see the headline and they’re going to say, ‘Typical Republicans.’”

“We represent the local people who are the minority,” Awa said. “I know that every move we make is pono for the locals, to make it a local party.”

Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii’s Public Policy Center, laughed out loud at the stand-off between Fevella and Awa over which of two people should be “leader” over the other, with little at stake among a two-member caucus in the Senate.

“It’s a fight between two people over who’s going to be in charge,” Moore said. “It does seem ridiculous, especially when the power is pretty limited. I’ve got to say that seems absurd. The optics are terrible because they’re not presenting themselves as a party that can govern if they can’t even agree among two people who should be leader. It doesn’t give much hope to local Republicans.”

As the lone Senate Republican last session, Fevella had an outsize role with an automatic seat on every Senate committee and was often an outspoken critic, which has carried into the current session.

He clearly has experience and seniority and would be right to assume the role as minority leader over the newcomer, Awa, said political analyst Neal Milner.

“If I had to guess, Brenton wants to establish himself as a new kind of Republican and wants to show face as early as possible,” Milner said.

“Ultimately, what difference does it make to anyone but the two people?” Milner said. “There are only two of them who have to divvy up all of those committee assignments, which is an onerous job.”

Internal squabbles occur all of the time at the Legislature among members of the same party but can become embarrassing “when they break out in public … and the public can peer behind the curtain,” Ward wrote in his text to the Star- Advertiser. “These internal battles are usually kept out of sight until they’re over. The only difference with the Kevin McCarthy speakership battle (in the U.S. House of Representatives) and the Fevella contest for leadership is public exposure to what is traditionally ‘behind the doors of smoke-filled rooms.’”

In his opening day remarks, Saiki poked fun at McCarthy’s 15 attempts to become speaker of the House and said, “Thank you for not taking 15 votes to elect the speaker.”

Matsumoto also spoke on the House floor on opening day as the House minority leader.

Among her caucus of six, Matsumoto makes committee assignments, represents Republicans on the House Rules Committee and serves “as that liaison and the voice for our caucus,” she said. “I set the vision and the direction of the caucus — being able to lift and support to make sure our voices are heard.”

“I have a seat at the table for a lot of decision-making,” she said.

Following the November elections, Matsumoto said, her caucus met during a two-day retreat and reelected her as minority leader, avoiding a repeat of 2020.

Asked about the optics of the current leadership struggle between Fevella and Awa, Matsumoto said that debate among lawmakers is healthy and can lead to consensus.

“I don’t view it as embarrassing,” she said. “I view it as part of the process.”

The four new House Republicans are Reps. David Alcos III (R, Ocean Pointe- Barbers Point), Diamond Garcia (R, Ewa-Kapolei), Elijah Pierick (R, Royal Kunia-Waipahu-Honouliuli) and Kanani Souza (R, Kapolei-Makakilo).

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Staff writer Andrew Gomes contributed to this report.