Following a crowded primary race, all four Honolulu City Council districts in play are headed for runoffs in the Nov. 8 general election.
Saturday’s nonpartisan primary had surprises from District 2, with candidate Matt Weyer, who currently works in the city Department of Community Services, amassing more votes than big-wave surfer Makuakai Rothman, and from District 6, with Traci Toguchi, a legislative analyst for the Council district, narrowly edging out five other candidates to advance by finishing second in the race.
Four of the nine Council districts — 2, 4, 6 and 8 — are up for election.
Candidates could have won outright in Saturday’s primary if they had collected 50% of the votes plus one. However, no one in any of the races came close to that threshold, so the two candidates with the highest vote totals in each race advanced to the general election.
When only two candidates are running for a Council seat, which is the case in District 4, they square off only in the general election. In that race, current Council Chair Tommy Waters will be running for reelection against Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board member Kaleo Nakoa.
>> Council District 2 covers Royal Kunia, Wahiawa, and along the North Shore to Kahaluu. The District 2 incumbent, Heidi Tsuneyoshi, did not seek reelection to instead run for governor, leaving the seat open for five candidates.
It was a closely watched race due to the diverse backgrounds of the candidates, such as Rothman’s prominence in the surfing community and Chad Tsuneyoshi being Heidi Tsuneyoshi’s ex-husband.
Weyer’s unexpected lead in the primary came despite Rothman’s name recognition and the high amount of campaign funds he raised. According to the latest campaign financial disclosure report published in July, Rothman raised $100,816 compared to Weyer’s $61,164.
Infrastructure, public safety and land preservation were key topics in the race.
Other candidates included North Shore Neighborhood Board member Racquel Achiu and Lupe Funaki, a Laie Community Association board member.
>> In the District 6 race to represent the downtown area, Nuuanu and Kalihi Valley, Tyler Dos Santos- Tam, a business consultant, was the clear victor in Saturday’s primary and will face off in the general election against Toguchi, who got the second-highest vote total in the primary.
Current Council member Carol Fukunaga reached her term limit, leaving the seat open. District 6 was the most crowded of the Council races, with seven candidates.
District 6 also drew attention because of two well-known candidates who made their names outside politics, including Toguchi, a former Miss Hawaii, and Nalani Jenkins, one of the founding members of local band Na Leo Pilimehana.
Toguchi narrowly edged out opponents Ikaika Hussey and Jenkins despite raising significantly less campaign funds than both, according to the latest campaign finance report in July.
Housing and crime dominated the District 6 race, with candidates campaigning on increasing affordable housing as well as finding new ways to address public safety concerns in the area.
Hussey is the CEO of a workforce development and climate change organization and Jenkins is the president of a communications firm.
Dennis Nakasato, a former state representative; Chad Toshiro Wolke, a former congressional staffer for U.S. Rep. Ed Case; and Chance Naauao-Ota, secretary of the Liliha/Puunui/Alewa/Kamehameha Heights Neighborhood Board, were the other three candidates.
>> In the District 8 primary to represent Pearl City through Mililani, candidates Ron Menor and Val Okimoto were in a virtual tie. Regardless of who gets the most votes, both will be advancing to run against each other in the November general election.
Menor previously served as a Council member for District 9 but reached his term limit in 2019. Okimoto is currently the Republican minority leader in the state House of Representatives. Current Council member Brandon Elefante reached his term limit, leaving the seat open.
Menor and Okimoto split the majority of the votes in the district, leaving little for the other candidates: Keone Simon, who previously ran for state representative; Charmaine Doran, a member of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board; and Dion Mesta, vice president of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board.
Housing and infrastructure were key topics in the district, with candidates focusing on increasing affordable housing in the area.
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