As someone who has won and lost close elections, I am distressed that the media is trying to assign blame for the special election for City Council in East Honolulu as if the candidates were the cause. Trevor Ozawa is no more at fault for trying to confirm his victory than Tommy Waters is for trying to reverse his loss.

Regardless of what we think of the Supreme Court’s ruling, no one claimed voting fraud, or that ballots were mishandled or missing. Neither candidate had anything to do with how the election was conducted.

My concern is that because the controversy was about counting mail-in votes, confidence in the process will be severely strained. The irony is the new election will be solely by mail-in ballots. I fear a drastic reduction in voting as a result.

So my plea is simple: Forget about finger-pointing. Focus on which candidate can and will advocate for the district. Pay attention to whether support for either candidate is grassroots or represents a broader political agenda. And then fill out that ballot and mail it in. Good government for all of us depends on it.

Neil Abercrombie

Governor of Hawaii, 2010-2014

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