A couple of high-profile Democratic upsets were the compelling stories of the 2024 primary election.
The biggest giant killer was Kim Coco Iwamoto, who defeated House Speaker Scott Saiki on her third try, coming out 254 votes ahead after twice losing by fewer than 170.
It sent shock waves through the state’s political establishment, forcing a reorganization of House leadership and sending a message to the Legislature’s entrenched power elite that they’re not as invulnerable as they think.
Saiki came to power as leader of a reform faction that toppled former Speaker Calvin Say, but he turned out to be a cautious speaker who protected Hawaii’s power establishment and moneyed special interests.
Iwamoto, well known as a former member of the old elected Board of Education and having resources for a competitive campaign, ran as a hyper-reformer. She pledged to seek changes in autocratic House rules that make gods of committee chairs and to champion term limits, publicly financed elections and voter initiative.
With Saiki the only top legislative leader up for reelection or facing credible opposition, voters in District 25 (Ala Moana, Kakaako, Downtown) seized the only opportunity in this election to really shake things up. Gov. Josh Green’s heavy support of Saiki did neither much good.
A member of Saiki’s faction could well become the new speaker, but it’ll be a chastened majority less able to dismiss popular wishes for more open House operations and elections.
The reform faction should be more energized; it takes only a third of the House to pull bottled-up bills out of committee and force floor votes.
And Iwamoto’s win hopefully will embolden other reformers with name recognition and resources to take on unresponsive incumbents, instead of letting them ride special-interest cash and endorsements to lightly contested reelection.
The other notable story is Ikaika Hussey, a civic-minded journalist and community advocate for family, energy and environmental issues who’s run several times for the Legislature and City Council in the Kalihi area, only to be big-footed by well-larded establishment candidates.
Hussey’s campaigns are distinguished by his willingness to do the grueling work of walking the district repeatedly, taking selfies with constituents he meets and posting them on his social media with their comments on issues.
It finally paid off in his underdog race in House District 29 (Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley) against Rep. May Mizuno.
She was controversially appointed to the House by Green after the governor named her husband and longtime district representative, John Mizuno, to be state energy coordinator.
The deal rubbed many voters wrong on top of concerns about May Mizuno’s long service as her husband’s $70,000-a-year chief of staff, thanks to the Legislature’s lax nepotism rules.
Green strongly supported Mizuno, but his thumb on the electoral scale was less weighty than he hoped and Hussey doggedly walked his way to a big victory of 1,592 votes to 978.
Iwamoto was elected outright with no general election opponent, but Hussey still must face Republican Carole Kaapu. Whatever their futures hold, it’s good to see independence, perseverance and hard work rewarded in Hawaii’s tightly controlled political world.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.
