State Rep. Richard Fale said Tuesday that he intends to challenge state Sen. Clayton Hee in an election that could serve as a referendum on gay marriage.
Fale, a Mormon, was one of the most vocal opponents of gay marriage during the special session last fall. The Republican believes lawmakers should have let voters decide the issue through a state constitutional amendment. Hee, chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee, helped craft the gay marriage bill. The Democrat considers the issue to be about equality and justice.
"There’s been a groundswell of community support asking me to run against Clayton Hee," said Fale (R, Waialua-Kahuku-Waiahole).
"There’s been outrage within the community in regards to the way he has represented our community, especially recently, during the special session."
Fale said gay marriage would not be the only issue in the campaign — which depends on both Fale and Hee winning their party primaries — but would likely be a dominant issue.
"People generally are not happy with the way the state of Hawaii is going, the direction with education, the direction with the budget, the direction with overall leadership," he said. "They’re looking for something new, something different."
Fale said that since voters were not given the opportunity of a constitutional amendment on gay marriage, "the only way people can effectively make their voices heard is going to be through this next election."
Hee (D, Heeia-Laie-Waialua) said voters would have a clear choice.
The senator views marriage equality as a "constitutional issue of equality and justice," while "Rep. Fale views it as an issue involving homosexuality," he said.
Environmental, conservation, agriculture, traffic and growth issues are important to voters in the Windward and North Shore Senate district, which, geographically, is the largest on Oahu.
"They’re a real educated electorate that are very passionate about keeping the country country. Very environmental," Hee said. "And from that aspect we are in sync. They generally are for open spaces and for ag development, and from that issue we are in sync as well."
Hee had more than $440,600 in cash on hand for his re-election campaign at the end of last year. Fale had just about $28,800 in his House account.
Hee, who served in the House and Senate during the 1980s before returning to the Senate in 2004, defeated former Rep. Colleen Meyer in a relatively close election in 2012. His Senate district expanded to include the North Shore when boundaries were redrawn after the 2010 census, and Meyer, a conservative, benefited from the higher turnout by Mormons in Laie who came out to support former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president.
Fale, who also benefited by an energized Mormon voting bloc, narrowly defeated then-Rep. Gil Riviere in the GOP primary before winning the general election. Riviere has since switched political parties and is running for Fale’s House seat as a Democrat.
