The two Honolulu mayoral hopefuls advancing into November’s winner-take-all matchup are the same two candidates who outraised and outspent a broad and diverse field of opponents.
Former businessman Keith Amemiya raised $1,609,175 and spent $1,583,990 on his way to
finishing first in campaign spending among the pack of 15 candidates. Retired business executive Rick Blangiardi, who finished second in spending, raised $1,016,288 and spent $978,073. Nearly half of Blangiardi’s campaign funds came from loans he and his wife made to the campaign.
In the Aug. 8 primary, Blangiardi garnered 25.6% of the votes cast while
Amemiya collected 20.6%.
The campaign spending numbers came from political financing reports filed with the state Campaign Spending Commission last week.
While neither Blangiardi nor Amemiya are strangers to the political realm, both are making their first foray into elective politics.
Both men invested heavily in their respective
campaigns.
Blangiardi has loaned his campaign $450,000, while Karen Chang, his wife, loaned the campaign $15,000. That accounts for 49.7% of the receipts the campaign has collected.
Amemiya, meanwhile, loaned his campaign $218,712. That’s 14.2% of his campaign’s total receipts.
Councilwoman Kym Pine, who finished fourth in the primary with 14.4%, finished third in campaign contributions collected and in money spent. Pine, who had a healthy campaign war chest going into her mayoral bid, collected $794,956 and spent $793,889.
Former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who finished third in the primary with 18.6%, collected $741,446 and spent $759,385, fourth in each of the categories.
Onetime Mayor Mufi Hannemann finished fifth in the campaign with 10.1% of the votes cast. He collected $604,104 and spent $602,531, which ranked fifth in those categories.
Former state Rep. William “Bud” Stonebraker, who turned in his nomination papers on the last day they could be filed, June 2, finished sixth in the primary, as well as fundraising and expenditures, raising $96,837 and spending $81,287.
Approaching the Nov. 3 general election, the Amemiya and Blangiardi campaigns must both essentially start from scratch.
Amemiya reported a total debt of $284,575, which includes $214,729 he loaned himself as well as $69,846 in unpaid bills. Blangiardi reported $465,000 in total debts consisting of the money he and his wife loaned to the campaign.
The political superPAC Aloha Aina Oiaio, which sought to discredit Amemiya’s claims of being an outsider by pointing out his insider connections, reported spending $101,899 on its campaign while accepting $93,500 from individuals and a few smaller businesses.
SuperPACs, also known
as independent expenditure committees, are allowed to spend an unlimited amount of funds in support or in
opposition to any candidate’s campaign, provided there is no coordination with any candidate campaigns and the superPAC does not contribute directly to a candidate.
While Aloha Aina Oiaio, which gets its funding from a small group of individuals and several small businesses, opposes Amemiya’s campaign, the mayoral candidate also was the focus of another superPAC that supports him.
HiVISION 2020, which filed organization papers in June and receives its funding from the union-affiliated Plumbers and Pipefitters
Political Action Committee, reported spending $74,216 in support of Amemiya’s campaign.
The group also spent $48,227 in support of City Council District 3 (Windward Oahu) candidate
Esther Kiaaina, who finished first in her primary election race.
Alan Kekoa Texeira, one of Kiaaina’s opponents, benefited from $162,326 in independent support from superPAC Be Change Now, which is financed by the
Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters via its Hawaii Carpenters Market Recovery Program Fund. Although the amount Be Change Now spent in support of Texeira was the most a superPAC spent in support of or in opposition to any candidate in this year’s primary, the effort failed to get the candidate elected. Texeira finished third behind Kiaaina and second-place finisher Greg Thielen.
Be Change Now also spent $128,781 for an independent campaign in support of candidate Jane Clement, who lost in her bid for the Hawaii County Council’s District 7 Kona seat.
In 2018, Be Change Now ran ads supporting Hanabusa’s unsuccessful run for governor and then-state Sen. Josh Green’s successful bid for lieutenant governor. It also ran advertising opposing Gov. David Ige.
The Pacific Resources PAC, which is also affiliated with the carpenters’ union, in 2012 spent $3.6 million on advertising trying to persuade voters to reject former Gov. Ben Cayetano’s mayoral bid. PRP has been
a staunch supporter of the city rail project, which Cayetano opposed.
In the race for Honolulu prosecuting attorney, former state Judge and U.S. Attorney Steve Alm raised $246,609 and spent $212,566 in finishing on the top of the primary leader board.
Defense attorney and one-time deputy prosecuting attorney Megan Kau, who finished second in the primary and will face off against Alm in November, raised $154,507 and spent $148,739. Third-place finisher Jacquie Esser raised $124,008 and spent $108,494.
Among candidates vying for five Honolulu Council seats, the two hopefuls who won outright this month raised and spent the most. Former state Rep. Andria Tupola, who lost to Ige for the governor’s seat in 2018, raised $318,861 and spent $285,650 in besting a field of four opponents to win the Council District 1, West Oahu seat.
Former state Rep. and onetime House Speaker Calvin Say accepted $124,069 and spent $119,190 in defeating two opponents to win the Council District 5 seat (Kaimuki-Makiki).
Only one other Council candidate raised and spent more than $100,000. Texeira, who finished third in the Council District 3 (Windward Oahu) race and failed to advance to the general election, raised $109,134 and spent $104,009. That does not include the support he got from superPAC Be Change Now.
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