Lt. Gov. Josh Green and former Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona sparred Wednesday night over the issues of abortion and whether to legalize recreational marijuana in their first televised debate to help decide who will become Hawaii’s next governor.
Abortion “is an issue that my opponent keeps harping on … to divide and to create emotional scars for the women of Hawaii,” Aiona said on the broadcasts first aired on KHII and later on KHON2.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this year to leave the issue of abortion rights up to individual states did not change Hawaii law, Aiona said.
“We just need to put this aside,” Aiona said.
Rather than the “emotional turmoil” of focusing on abortion, Aiona said the critical issues facing Hawaii are the cost of living, housing and crime.
Aiona also said he was opposed to “abortion after birth,” prompting Green to say, “I don’t even know what he’s talking about.”
Green said the next governor is likely to appoint three Supreme Court justices, along with a state attorney general and director of the state Health Department who could shape the direction of abortion rights in Hawaii.
Aiona responded that the issue is up to the state Legislature and accused Green of “putting the cart before the horse” in talking about judicial appointments.
Green countered that former President Donald Trump’s appointment of three Supreme Court justices paved the way for the court to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Aiona accused Green of not “respecting the people who believe in the right to life.”
Green responded, “Mr. Aiona is not in step with the people of Hawaii on this matter.”
The hourlong broadcast featured Green and Aiona standing at lecterns, interrupted by a less formal segment of their running mates sitting in white club chairs and fielding questions before going back to Aiona and Green.
Unlike the Aug. 13 party primary elections, voters can cross party lines in the Nov. 8 general election but will only have one option to vote for either Green and his running mate, outgoing state House Rep. Sylvia Luke, or for Aiona and his running mate, Hawaii island pastor Seaula “Junior” Tupai Jr.
Aiona is making his third run for the governor’s office as the Republican Party’s nominee, but faces formidable hurdles against Green.
In their separate primary elections Aug. 13, Green received an overwhelming 158,161 votes, representing over 60% of the Democratic ballots cast.
Aiona — a two-time lieutenant governor, Circuit Court judge, deputy corporation counsel and deputy prosecutor — received 37,608 Republican votes, or over 45% of the Republican ballots.
After the primaries, Green still had a political war chest just shy of $516,000.
Aiona, by comparison, reported just $5,333 in leftover campaign donations.
They also clashed Wednesday night over whether to legalize recreational marijuana in Hawaii.
Aiona, the architect of Hawaii’s “drug court” diversion program, said, “I have an issue with recreational marijuana,” specifically the effects of brain development on “our young adults and young children.”
“It’s just another drug that’s just going to go out there and cause more havoc in our community and we just don’t need that,” Aiona said.
Green said that he would support recreational marijuana use for adults over age 21 “if done safely” and taxed at a rate that could generate $30 million to $40 million that could go to mental health services.
Green and Aiona had less sharp differences about how to help working families and small businesses and develop more affordable housing, such as eliminating taxes on food — but there were still fundamental differences.
“The best thing we can do is just kind of get out of the way,” Aiona said, while vowing to review regulations and taxes, especially on small businesses.
He would like to see a return to 2002 when he and former Gov. Linda Lingle were elected to the first of two terms and Lingle sent the message that “Hawaii’s open for business,” Aiona said. “How can we let businesses flourish?”
Green said he also would like to see the elimination of taxes on food and medications and reduced regulations on small businesses, while creating new incentives for local agriculture and energy programs.
He pledged to “immediately” visit Japan, if elected, to look at ways to increase Japanese travel.
Aiona and Green also quarreled over the state’s response to COVID-19 that prominently featured Green’s role as lieutenant governor and as a Kona emergency room physician.
“We didn’t have to have a full closure of our economy and that hurt us tremendously and now we’re paying the price,” Aiona said.
Aiona also said that he doubts Hawaii’s economy will rebound as fast and robustly as predicted, repeating “we just need to get out of the way” of businesses.
Green repeated his pledge to charge adult tourists a $50 “climate impact fee” that he said will generate $350 million to $400 million and help offset “the really large burden that they often put on our land and on our economy.”
Aiona said the effect, instead, may be to stifle tourism.
“They can only pay so much,” he said.
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