Honolulu mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano isn’t too worried about the Pacific Resource Partnership’s latest attack ad about the people he pardoned.

While PRP accuses him of pardoning more convicts than any other governor since statehood, Cayetano said the group doesn’t fully explain the circumstances behind those pardons.

“Some of these guys were pardoned after they were released from prison and served their terms,” Cayetano told Civil Beat. “They asked for pardons so they could get jobs.”

Not only that, he said the state Attorney General and directer of the Department of Public Safety oftentimes recommended who should be pardoned.

PRP criticizes Cayetano for pardoning individuals who were convicted of negligent homicide and drunk driving as well as statutory rape.

The ad, however, attempts to evoke more fear, describing these incidents simply as “rape” and “homicide.”

“They want to choose the pardons that they feel will evoke some kind of emotion from the (viewer),” Cayetano said of PRP. “As far as I’m concerned I don’t think there’s one pardon that I regret.”

In case you missed PRP’s latest TV spot, you can check it out here.

—Nick Grube