HILO — Incumbent State Senator Gil Kahele raised more than 10 times the money that challenger Donald Ikeda did in the first six months of 2012, according to campaign spending reports released Thursday by the state Elections Division.
HILO — Incumbent State Senator Gil Kahele raised more than 10 times the money that challenger Donald Ikeda did in the first six months of 2012, according to campaign spending reports released Thursday by the state Elections Division.
Kahele, who was appointed to the state Senate District 2 seat in January 2011 by Gov. Neil Abercrombie, will seek election for the first time in the newly redrawn Senate District 1, which encompasses Hilo and its surrounding communities. Ikeda, currently an elected member of the Hawaii County Council, is completing his fourth term and cannot run again.
Ikeda raised $4,080 during the January-June reporting period, including $3,380 from nine individual donors and $200 from Graphic Images Hawaii Inc. Clifford Kaminaka, vice president of Automotive Warehouse, was Ikeda’s largest donor at $1,000. In May, Ikeda fattened the campaign account with a $10,000 loan from himself.
Kahele, meanwhile, raised $44,380, including $20,680 from 75 individuals. Honua Group LLC of Honolulu contibuted $4,000, and other entities, including businesses and PACs, raised $18,250 for Kahele’s campaign.
Both candidates are Democrats and the winner of the August 11 primary will be unopposed in the general election.
In the newly reconfigured Senate District 2 race, Democrat Bob Herkes easily outdistanced four opponents by raising a total of $21,900. Nearly half of that amount was received from individul donors. Businesses and PACs contributed $5,150, and non-candidate committees raised $6,500. Herkes received out-of-state contributions from FPL Group Resources LLC of Juno Beach Fla. ($500); Astrazeneca of Seattle Wash. ($250), and Illinois-based Allstate Insurance donated $250. The HI Carpenters PAC was Herkes’ largest donor at $4,000.
Closest to Herkes in the money race is health food store owner Russell E. Ruderman, who has raised a total of $4,526, $2,243 from 15 individual donors. Businesses and PACs contributed $892.
Former Hawaii County Councilman Gary S. Safarik and Wendell J. Ka’ehu’a’ea each listed no contributions. Herkes, Ruderman, Ka’ehu’ae’aand Safarik, all Democrats, will run off in the August 11 primary. Daryl Lee Smith, the only Republican in the contest, raised $700 from three individuals and $2,176 from businesses for a total of $2,176. Smith’s largest donors were Day Lum Rentals and Management, Inc., and Frank DeLuz III, at $500 each.
In Senate District 3, incumbent Democrat Josh Green holds a substantial fundraising lead lead over a pair of Republicans and one non-partisan candidate. Green a Kona physician, received $43,275 from 76 individual donors, $6,125 from businesses and PACs, and $9,250 from non-candidate committees, for a total of $58,650. Largest individual donors at $4,000 each are Reis Carmin of Concord, Massachusetts; Arthur Ushijima, administrator at Queen’s Hospital, Honolulu; retired insurer Arnold Baptiste Jr., of Honolulu; attorney Richard L. Fried of Honolulu; Sharlee Eising, self-employed; and Chuck Lipps, a Holualoa contractor.
Republicans Jeff R. LaFrance and John Totten, and non-partisan candidate Michael L. (Mike) Last, listed no campaign contributions in the District 3 race.
Democrat Lorraine Rodero Inouye, former state Senator and Hawaii County Mayor, is the leading money-raiser in the Senate District 4 race with a total of $9,025, including $4,025 from 16 individual donations and $3,500 from businesses and PACs. Her largest donors are her husband Vernon and Painters Union Local 1791 PAC, $1,000 each.
Inouye’s opponent, Democrat Malama Solomon, was appointed to the Senate District 1 seat in 2010 by Gov. Abercrombie and is running now in District 4 due to recent districts boundary changes. Solomon listed $2,500 in contributions from individual donors, including $1,000 from Leonard and Sherrilyn Leong, and $4,500 from other entities such as Altria Client Servics ($1,000) and Monsanto Company of St. Louis, Mo. ($1,000). Solomon raised a total of $7,000 during the period.
Former County Councilman Kelly Greenwell, a member of the Green Party, is also in the race but listed no contributions on the Elections Web site.
In the state House of Representatives District 1 race, incumbent Democrat Mark M. Nakashima listed 16 individual contributions totaling $3,545, $4,450 from businesses and PACs, and $950 from non-candidate committees, for a total of $9,045. Nakashima’s largest donor was the United Brotherhood of Carpenters ($1,500). The only other candidate in the race, Democrat Noralyn Bolosan Pajimola received one contribution, $150 from Nelson S. Fukuhara of Hilo.
In state House District 3, Democrat Richard H.K. Onishi listed five individual contributions totaling $3,510. Businesses and PACs donated $4,000 ($2,000 each from UHPA and HGEA, his largest donors) for a total of $7,510. Other candidates vying for the seat, Libertarian Party candidate Fred Fogel and Republican Marlene (Nachbar) Hapai listed no campaign contributions during the period.
In House District 4, incumbent Democrat Faye P. Hanohano received one $50 campaign donation from an individual and $3,000 from businesses and PACs, including $1,750 from Honolulu-based labor union Ironworkers for Better Government Local 625, her largest donor. Two non-partisan candidates in the race, Hope Louise Cermelj and Moke Stephens, each had no record of contributions.
Incumbent Democrat Denny Coffman received eight individual donations totaling $2,350, $2,000 from non-candidate committees and $3,400 from business and PACs, to lead his challengers in the race for the District 5 House seat. Republican Dave Bateman (R) listed $1,550 in individual donations. Democrat Leolani Lagat Oyama listed no contributions.
In state House District 6, Kona Democrat Fred Housel is the only one of six qualified candidates who recorded a campaign contribution during the January-June reporting period. Housel received one individual contribution of $500 from Kailua resident Burk Matsuyama. Democrats Kalei Akaka, Bucky Leslie and Nicole Lowen reported no campaign contributions. Republicans Roy Ebert and Mike Bresline also reported no campaign contributions.
Only individual donations of more than $100 are counted.