Last week, if Mayor Rick Blangiardi was looking at a list of candidates already filed to run for Honolulu mayor, he had to be smiling.

His name was the only one showing.

Amazingly, by the middle of last week the list of official candidates had one name: Richard John Blangiardi.

The 77-year-old, former college football player and assistant coach at the University of Hawaii where he earned a master’s degree in educational administration, is running for reelection as Honolulu’s 15th mayor. If ball-playing Blangiardi was tough at the line of scrimmage, it was nothing compared to his performance first in business as a national and local broadcast executive, and then in Hawaii politics.

Of course, candidates have until Tuesday to file to run in the upcoming elections. Eleven people so far have taken out papers to run for the office; one candidate, Ku Lono Cuadra, took out papers, filed for Honolulu mayor and then withdrew from the race — but as of last week, Blanguardi is the only person who has filed.

University of Hawaii professor and political analyst, Colin Moore described Blagiardi’s situation as “astonishing.” Not because Blangiardi wasn’t expected to be strong but because the first-term mayor appears to be the only candidate. There just is no one else running so far. People have taken out papers, but Blangiardi is the only one to submit the needed paperwork.

Blangiardi is asking voters to reelect him after winning his first and only local political race in 2020. He certainly wasn’t an unknown when he first ran, though; Blangiardi had been a long-time television commentator, thanks to his position running KGMB-TV.

With that kind of a head start, I had to ask Moore if the news media should just refer to Blangiardi as the new “mayor-elect.”

“It’s hard to imagine how they could mount a challenge to the incumbent mayor. So, yes, Rick Blangiardi is effectively mayor-elect,” said Moore.

Ticking off the reasons why Blangiardi appears so formidable, Moore said the mayor has a lot of political assets.

He listed Blangiardi’s strong communication talents, no major political or natural disasters to handle, and the implementation of “some effective reforms.”

Also Blangiardi has political donations to use for campaign expenses, including polls, research, commercials and ads. State reports show that he has already collected $459,000.

“With longstanding ties to the business community,” Moore speculated, Blangiardi “could easily raise much more.”

“This is the first time this has occurred in Honolulu’s history. Ever since the office became nonpartisan, every mayoral election has been highly competitive,” explained Moore.

For the record, the primary election will be held on Aug. 10, and the general, which includes voting for president, on Nov. 5.

Moore notes that besides the political purposes, elections serve to generate interest in the community, force residents to talk about issues, and strengthen local ties.

“Campaigns provide a platform to discuss important issues, understand community priorities, and hold incumbents accountable,” Moore said in an interview.

I agree. Elections keep everyone on their toes — reaching to do better and finding the answers to our problems.

Don’t forget to vote.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com