Former state senator and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Clayton Hee and former U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele have reentered Hawaii politics this election cycle, while current Council Member Calvin Say, the former speaker of the state House of Representatives, has decided to retire from politics at age 72.
Say’s decision not to seek reelection had been widely speculated upon and already set off a scramble to replace him to represent an urban Council district that includes St. Louis Heights, Manoa, Moiliili, McCully, Ala Moana, Makiki and portions of Kakaako.
“It’s been 48 years,” Say told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after the deadline to file nomination papers passed this week. “I started at the age of 24 and now I’m fading out into the sunset.”
Say continues to undergo cardiac treatment for a “slight blockage” but plans to continue to be of public service helping nonprofit groups navigate government. He considers himself “honored and privileged” to have served constituents and said it was an easy decision to give way to “the next generation of leadership.”
Among the field of candidates to succeed him are former state Reps. Dale Kobayashi and Scott Nishimoto, who just left the House after 22 years.
Far less expected was the reemergence of Hee and Kahele, who served one term in Congress and then made an unsuccessful bid for governor two years ago in a race won overwhelmingly by Josh Green.
Hee will run in the Aug. 10 Democratic primary election for the largely rural Senate district that includes Laie, Mokuleia and a portion of Kaneohe.
If Hee moves on to the Nov. 5 general election, he will face incumbent Republican Brenton Awa.
A potential race between Hee and Awa would be among the most interesting this year because voters could easily decide to go Republican or Democratic in choosing between two Hawaiian candidates who can be unpredictable but with reputations “for not pulling their punches,” said Colin Moore, who teaches public policy at the University of Hawaii and serves as associate professor at the University of Hawaii Economic Resource Organization.
“Very rarely do we see a strong Republican and a strong Democrat running in a district that could go either way,” Moore said.
Political analyst Neal Milner called Awa “not an ordinary kind of Republican” and Hee “clearly his own boss. He’s his own man. Clayton is a one-off.”
After serving in Congress, followed by aspirations of becoming governor, Kahele has now chosen to run for OHA and certainly has the name recognition to be a strong contender, Moore said.
Milner called Kahele’s failed run for governor “embarrassing” and, as a result, “he certainly wouldn’t have any luck getting his old congressional seat back.”
But running for OHA shows “that he’s serious about Hawaiian issues” and could serve as a reboot of Kahele’s political career, Milner said.
“If you want to keep your feet in the water, it’s a pretty good place to start,” Milner said.
For both Hee and Kahele, Milner said their reemergence on Hawaii’s political scene could indicate “that politics gets into your blood and you still have the idea that you can still do good.”
Or, as Moore said, “it’s tough for people to step away when they’ve been in those positions.”
Two veteran House members — Reps. Gene Ward (R, Hawaii Kai-Kalama Valley) and Della Au Belatti (D, Makiki-Punchbowl) — are already assured reelection as the only candidates in their races.
But Reps. Lauren Matsumoto (R, Mililani-Waipio Acres-Mililani Mauka) and Kanani Souza (R, Kapolei-Makakilo) — two of six Republicans in the 51-member House — each have one Republican challenger in their primary races.
Rep. May Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley) faces two Democratic challengers in her first attempt at reelection after Green appointed Mizuno to fill her husband’s seat after Green picked John Mizuno to be the state’s homeless coordinator this year.
And the resignation of state Sen. Maile Shimabukuro (D, Nanakuli- Waianae-Makaha) has led both Republican and Democratic candidates to run to replace her, including Rep. Cedric Gates. He gave up his House seat representing Waianae and Makaha for a chance to move over to the Senate.
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