If Oahu voters were looking for surprises in Honolulu’s 2024 primary election for the mayoral and City Council races, there were few to be found. As predicted by many political pundits and interested observers, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi handily beat his challengers Saturday evening. In the second set of results posted after 10:30 p.
m., the 77-year-old retired media executive took nearly 79% of the vote — or 116,039 votes — to secure the city’s top elective office for another four years. Blangiardi needed just over 50% to win outright tonight and avoid a General Election runoff.
This year, the incumbent’s rivals were David L. Duke Bourgoin, a business owner and consultant; Karl O. Dicks, who’s variously worked as a farmer, journeyman carpenter and heavy equipment operator; and Choon James, a residential real estate broker.
James was a distant second, taking nearly 13.7% of the vote. Bourgoin garnered about 3.
9% and Dicks almost 3.5%, according to late-night results. Still, Blangiardi outspent his opponents as well.
To continue as mayor, an office which comes with an annual salary of $209,856, Blangiardi raised over $2.2 million, according to campaign filings — far surpassing any amounts his challengers had either raised or loaned to their respective campaigns. But the mayor stated money wasn’t the reason his campaign bested this year’s competition.
“We always felt the best campaign strategy was putting our heads down, working hard and solving the city’s major challenges,” Blangiardi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email before election results were released. “Our town halls gave Oahu residents an opportunity to learn of our day-to-day work, accomplishments and bring new issues to our attention for us to solve.” He added that “problem solving to make Honolulu a better place transcends elections, campaigning and four-year terms .
.. it is an ongoing commitment that we understand and recognize, and we believe the voters understand as well.
” In his second term, Blangiardi previously told the Star-Advertiser that he’ll commence the nearly $10 billion Skyline’s interim rail operations to Middle Street and the start of construction on the guideway and stations through Kalihi, Iwilei, Chinatown and downtown Honolulu to Kakaako. He also wants to break ground “on the city’s transit-oriented community adjacent to the rail station in Iwilei with approximately 2,000 affordable housing units.” Likewise, Blangiardi previously asserted that as far as new housing on Oahu was concerned, he hoped to bring 18,000 total units over eight years in office.
Other actions as the city’s chief executive officer include implementing “significant improvements in the city’s ability to hire and retain essential city workers” to fill city government’s 2,500-person vacancy, the mayor said. Honolulu City Council Esther Kia‘aina, vice chair of the Honolulu City Council, faced three challengers in her latest reelection bid to continue to represent Windward Oahu and also appeared headed to an outright victory Saturday. Since 2021, Kia‘aina, 61, has represented Council District 3, which includes Ahuimanu, Heeia, Haiku, Kaneohe, Maunawili, Kailua, Olomana, Enchanted Lake and Waimanalo.
On Saturday, she took nearly 60% of the vote — or 11,153 votes, results indicated. “I’m running as hard as I can on all fronts to just make sure that we have a solid campaign,” Kia‘aina told the Star-Advertiser before election results were posted Saturday. Kia‘aina’s challengers were music producer and musician David N.
Kauahikaua, who took 17.5% of the vote; two-time Olympian and retired U.S.
Navy Reserve officer Kelsey Nakanelua, who captured over 17%; and small business owner Christopher J. Curren who got almost 6.2%, results state.
“I felt that they were very passionate and concerned about their community, and so that was not lost on me,” Kia‘aina said about her election rivals. “And moving forward, of course, the fact that my race was one of the only races that had competition I think is healthy, because that’s the way it should be; the voters should always have a choice. I felt that they cared deeply about the community.
” To retain her seat, which comes with an annual salary of $113,304, Kia‘aina said her reelection campaign raised more than it did the last time she ran for office. “For the 2024 primary race, I know the last filing was for about $170,000,” she said, adding more recent filings likely boosted that amount. “So it might be between $170,000 to $180,000.
” For the 2022 Council race, Kia‘aina said that campaign raised $137,000 in total. “In order to be able to reach voters, you have to use every mechanism possible,” she said, adding that money was largely spent on campaign mailers. “And I don’t believe I would have had the luxury if I did not have the sufficient funds, it’s just a part of the campaign process.
” In urban Honolulu, another Council race was fought between three candidates who vied for the Council District 5 seat: William “Bill” Muneno, a restaurant owner; Scott Y. Nishimoto, a lawyer and former state House representative; and Brendan Schultz, a nonprofit director and humanitarian aid worker. The seat, which spans Palolo Valley, St.
Louis Heights, Manoa, Moiliili, McCully, Ala Moana, Makiki and portions of Kakaako, was up for grabs after Council member Calvin Say recently declared he would not seek reelection due to ongoing health concerns. It was Nishimoto, 50, who cruised to an outright victory over his opponents, amassing 72% of the vote, or 12,546 votes. Schultz got over 18% of votes, while Muneno received just over 10%.
“You never know how campaigns are going to work out,” Nishimoto told the Star-Advertiser by phone Saturday, before voting results were released. “This is my 12th campaign, you know they’re all different and it’s unpredictable.” His Council campaign’s priority was “meeting as many voters as possible and listening to them,” he said.
“So I started going door to door in November of last year,” he added. “So I’ve been at this for 10 months now.” Nishimoto said potential voters told him their concerns were “mostly quality of life issues.
” “It’s affordable housing, it’s public safety and then a lot of small things that are local, neighborhood-related things that unless you go and talk to voters you might not know about,” he said. “But we did our best to connect with as many voters as we can.” According to the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, Nishimoto’s 2024 Council campaign amassed $278,852.
33 total to date. He said much of that money was “carried over” from prior state-level campaign races. During the latest filing time period of July 1-26, his campaign spent $14,904.
72. Nishimoto’s campaign showed $147,149.94 in “cash on hand” at the end of the same reporting period, state filings indicate.
Meanwhile, three incumbent Honolulu Council members ran unopposed, each receiving 100% of the votes in their respective districts. District 7’s Radiant Cordero, 34, representing areas from Kapalama Kai to Waimalu Kai, garnered 9,055 votes. District 9’s Augie Tulba, 56, representing Waipahu, Iroquois Point, West Loch, Ewa Villages and portions of Ewa Beach, received 9,509 votes.
Andria Tupola, 43, representing District 1, which spans portions of Ewa Beach and the Waianae Coast, gained 10,159 votes. Prosecutor reelected Steven Alm, Honolulu’s prosecuting attorney, also had no challengers for a position he’s held since 2021, and received 100% of the votes. Alm, 71, tallied 117,527 votes.
Before Election Day, Alm told the Star-Advertiser, “I think the fact that no one chose to challenge me is a reflection of the great job the folks in the office have accomplished to get the office back on track and restore trust there.” He touted anti-crime programs his office has championed in Chinatown, the Ewa area, as well as Waikiki, among other locations on Oahu as a part of those accomplishments. “Together, we have been successful in being the voice for victims and in working with Honolulu Police Department to reduce crime island-wide, particularly in the three Weed & Seed sites and the Safe & Sound site where crime has been reduced by 30%,” he said.
Alm noted that in this year’s race his campaign raised $190,000. “I raised about $400,000 for the 2020 race,” he added..
