Hawaii’s freshman U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele is setting new speed records for breaking foundational campaign promises, and possibly blowing up his political career in the process.

Kahele’s central promise to voters in 2020 was that he’d be the opposite of his predecessor, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who was seldom in Washington in her final term as she pursued a vanity campaign for president.

Kahele pledged to give the job his full attention. After his election, he said he’d go “old school” and move his family to Washington to build the kind of long-term professional and social relationships that helped the late Hawaii U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye amass influence.

The opposite has occurred in the 16 months since Kahele took office.

He never moved his family to Washington, and a report by the Republican Ripon Society said in 2021 Kahele was often absent from Washington and had others cast 92 proxy votes on his behalf, compared with 11 for fellow Hawaii Democratic Rep. Ed Case.

According to Honolulu Civil Beat, in 2022 Kahele has cast only five of 125 votes in person and none since January — more proxy voting than all but three House members.

All while hinting he’ll abandon the seat after one term to run for governor.

Plotting a race for governor isn’t all he’s done while in Hawaii with Congress in session. Kahele has kept his job as a Hawaiian Airlines pilot, according to Civil Beat, under a deal between Hawaiian and the Air Line Pilots Association that lets him make up to the House outside earnings limit of $29,895, in addition to his $174,000 congressional salary.

Hawaiian and ALPA are campaign supporters and often have business before the House Transportation Committee on which Kahele sits, raising calls for an ethics investigation.

Kahele hasn’t personally addressed his absences, leaving staff to claim it’s because of his fear of COVID-19 and the effect on his family.

That’s specious, as the pandemic was far more dangerous when he was running for Congress and making his promises, with deadlier strains and no vaccines.

Fear of COVID-19 hasn’t stopped him from flying for Hawaiian and traveling the state for self-promoting events, sometimes photographed maskless.

Kahele’s staff claimed he can be effective while voting by proxy and participating in committee meetings remotely, which is nonsense. The job is in Washington, and you need to be there when Congress is in session to do it effectively — the point Kahele made against Gabbard.

It’s sad to see such hubris and self-destruction. Supporters hoped he’d become part of a new generation of leaders who would start to set Hawaii’s troubles right.

With recent disclosures, a Kahele campaign for governor seems dead on arrival. If he runs for reelection, he could face prominent Democrats who have pulled papers to run.

Kahele has portrayed himself as walking in the footsteps of Hawaii’s legendary pre-statehood delegate to Congress, Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole.

How could he not get it that Kuhio was actually in Washington as he walked those footsteps?

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.