When the vote totals are released Saturday night, we may learn a lot about where Hawaii stands politically and how it feels about some of its leaders. We’ll have a new Honolulu mayor and prosecutor and one of the heavyweight Democrats running for governor will be sitting on the sidelines.

Here’s a quick guide to the election:

Governor

On the Republican side: It’s difficult to imagine how Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona could have spent $2.3 million without a serious primary opponent. Perhaps he’s counting on a lot of help from the party and independent groups when he takes on the winner of the Democratic primary in the general election.

On the Democratic side: In a strange twist, we’ve seen a longtime congressman campaign as an outsider, as an agent of change, and a former mayor who grew the size of Honolulu Hale’s operating budget by 39 percent in six years, argue that his executive experience is what the state needs in a troubled economic environment. As Civil Beat’s Chad Blair reminded us at the start of the race with his article, Mufi v. Neil in 1986: The Bloody First Round, it got ugly the first time Neil Abercrombie and Mufi Hannemann went at it. And 24 years later, it was no different, with Hannemann’s perceived negative campaigning becoming an issue in the race.

Lt. Governor

On the Republican side: It’s expected that Lynn Finnegan, the House minority leader, will win the nomination. The race against Adrienne King has been a snooze.

On the Democratic side: The race for a largely ceremonial office — albeit one that can be a ticket to the governor’s office, or even in the next few years the U.S. Senate — has attracted a strong and large field of candidates, with plenty of money buying lots of TV time, but the contest has been overshadowed by the big race, between Hannemann and Abercrombie.

Possible Tickets

Imagine Hannemann and fellow social conservative Norman Sakamoto vs. Aiona and Finnegan. A Republican’s nightmare? Hannemann is as socially conservative as Aiona and the man for many in the business community. Or how about Abercrombie and Schatz vs. Aiona and Finnegan, a much stronger contrast? We could also end up with an all haole Democratic ticket vs. a Native Hawaiian and the descendant of Filipino immigrants. But in the end, it’s the governor candidate that people will vote for.

Honolulu Mayor

If Hannemann and his former managing director, Kirk Caldwell, were to go down to defeat, as the polls would indicate, it might be the Hawaii version of cleaning house that we’ve seen in some mainland races.

Former Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle is trying to take over Honolulu Hale with a message of fiscal responsibility and truth-telling. Acting Mayor Caldwell is trying to drop the acting label and engineer Panos Prevedouros believes his understanding of infrastructure is the winning ticket. It’s a winner-take-all election, with whoever gets the most votes finishing the final two years of Hannemann’s second term.

Honolulu Prosecutor

The race between a longtime member of the office, Franklin “Don” Pacarro Jr., former prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and a former deputy in the office, Darwin Ching, has largely been waged through TV ads and campaign signs. Pacarro and Kaneshiro have a more traditional approach, with Ching proposing a fundamental shift in the office. Another winner-take-all election.

Honolulu City Council

Four seats are in play, with one uncontested. Breene Harimoto will represent District 8.

The hottest race is District 4, where Rich Turbin and Stanley Chang have raised loads of money to win the seat held by Congressman Charles Djou before voters sent him to Washington. In District 2, it looks like the race is between John White and Ernie Martin.

There are 10 candidates, count ’em, 10, who want to take over the District 6 seat held by Rod Tam. (A special election will have to be held later to fill the seat held by Council Chairman Todd Apo.)

Legislature

There are a few races to watch on the Democratic side, but don’t expect the imbalance between the parties to change.

The battle over civil unions is playing out in House District 33, where State Rep. Blake Oshiro, the architect of House Bill 444, is facing a challenge from social conservative Gary Okino, a term-limited Honolulu City Councilman.

Senate District 22 has another term-limited city councilman, Donovan Dela Cruz, competing with State Rep. Mike Magaoay and two other Democrats. Senate District 7, Kauai–Niihau, has Ron Kouchi, a 22-year-councilman facing off against John Sydney Yamane.

In Senate District 19, Mike Gabbard faces a challenge from Mike Golojuch Sr. And in Senate District 25, there’s a primary on both sides to fill the seat vacated by Republican Fred Hemmings.

Board of Education

A field of 17 candidates is running for six seats on the 13-elected member board, knowing that voters might decide in November to put an end to the elected board and replace it with an appointed board. Perhaps the board’s biggest decision, whom to appoint as superintendent, is behind it. There will be runoffs in the general election for the top two finishers in five of these seats.

Bottom Line

This election could be a turning point in the careers of a number of prominent Hawaii politicians. For some their political career will likely be over. Others could position themselves well for even higher office. There are many fascinating story lines to watch. We’ll be all over them at Civil Beat. Learn more about our coverage plans.

Voting Questions

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Hawaii has 242 polling places this year (down from 339 in 2008).
If you don’t know where to vote, here’s a site that will help.

To Learn More About the Candidates

Civil Beat has a wealth of resources to help you if you still have questions about how to cast your ballot. Check out our topic pages for candidates to learn about their record and read how they answered questions about issues critical to their race. We’ve also given “The Last Word” to the leading governor and mayoral candidates. Check out their op-eds on the site.