One of the first television commercials for Gov. David Ige’s reelection starts as a classic attack ad.

There is his Democratic primary challenger, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, in harsh lighting, with her hands out grasping, a few somber music chords playing in the background.

A female voice intones: “Criticism isn’t leadership. Leaders lift up.”

The picture brightens as Ige pops on screen to audition one of the season’s more simplistic political admonitions: “Being a leader is about doing the right thing for the right reasons.”

After 40 years of watching politicians slap one other around on TV, I confess it washed over me, but I should have paid more attention.

If there is an ad that parses the political innuendo churning around this campaign, it is that this is a campaign being fought on the gender battlefield.

This isn’t a spot about issues; it is a direct attack on Hanabusa for questioning Ige’s leadership on issues ranging for Hawaiian affairs to the nuclear missile scare.

This year is most definitely the year of women in politics. As Hanabusa tried to define the race as being about leadership, what she leaves unsaid is how voters feel about tough women leaders. The Rev. Robert Nakata, a former state senator, jokes how when he and Hanabusa were both serving in the Legislature and Nakata was being interviewed for a Hanabusa profile, “I said her only problem is she isn’t cuddly enough. She is tough and sharp.”

As it turns out, Hanabusa knows enough women leaders, who are also supporters that both recognized what Ige was apparently trying to do with his commercial and how to respond. They held a news conference last week to criticize the commercial and Ige.

State Rep. Della Au Belatti, the House Democratic leader, called Ige’s commercial “a low blow,” because Ige used “stereotypes and bias and implicit biases” to question if women in politics can be critical.

Vicky Cayetano, founder, president and CEO of the commercial laundry service United Laundry Services Inc., characterized Ige’s spot as a clear example of “gender bias.”

“If we were talking about Cullen Hanabusa and not Colleen Hanabusa, would it still be offensive?” Cayetano asked in an interview. “Holding people accountable is certainly leadership. No one is above criticism.”

After the event, a spokeswoman for Ige said, “It is unfortunate but not unexpected, given her track record, that Hanabusa has gone into attack mode. The truth is that Gov. Ige has a lifelong record on equal justice, pro-choice, and advancing women’s rights.”

Hanabusa, according to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser report, said she appreciated the 20 women leaders who spoke, calling them “articulate and eloquent.”

In an interview later, Belatti, an attorney and Princeton University graduate, said that the Ige spot was part of the same gender bias she has seen her entire professional life.

“I am a woman leader and I am aware of biases and stereotypes we face and we work through them,” Belatti said. “I don’t cry and I don’t use the gender card, I just plow through them.”

Belatti, as the former House Health Committee chairwoman, helped push through the state’s medical marijuana legislation.

“We need to say it is OK for women to stand up and be critical. It is leadership,” Belatti said.

The Makiki Democrat added that she had not previously joined other legislative leaders in endorsing Hanabusa earlier in the year, but Ige’s commercial tipped the balance in favor of the congresswoman.

“We want to encourage women to participate, but these kind of campaign messages by the candidates are dangerous and should be called out,” Belatti added.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.