The Headliners: Three Candidates Steal The Thunder in Kahului Race

It’s a crowded seven-way race for the Maui County Council Kahului seat, with incumbent Tasha Kama facing Cara Flores, Carol Lee Kamekona, Buddy James Nobriga, Tina Pedro, Jack Schwartz and Keoni Watanabe in the August 13^th primary.

So far, Kama is a bit on the ropes. She’s raised just $13,750, or 32.2% of the $42,748 in total contributions made to all Kahului primary candidates up to June 30.  Actually her position has been wobbly since the 2020 election. Although Kama raised $57,560 in contributions during that entire election—more than any other candidate who won a council seat—she received the fewest number of votes. Then-challenger Carol Lee Kamekona, the progressive-supported candidate, ended up losing to Kama by only 2,388 votes. That’s why Kamekona is back this year for a rematch.

The Nobriga Factor

However, nobody counted on Buddy James Nobriga entering the race.

There are lots of young newcomers from well-established Maui families wetting their political feet this year.  Nohe U’u-Hodgins and Nara Boone in the Makawao-Haiku-Paia race, for example.  In Kahului, it’s Nobriga, of the formidable Maui Soda & Ice (Roselani ice cream) family, who is seeking to make his mark. He has held lots of appointed positions in the County over the past few years, most recently as chair of the Board of Water Supply.

In the Kahului race, he and Kama received contributions from the donor movement I recently dubbed “Anybody But Progressives.”  During the 2020 election, I suspect they went by a different name, Hui O Maui.

2020 Dark Money Sees the Light in 2022

Hui O Maui had a fake Hawaiian name and a 501(c)4 designation, which meant nobody knew the names of those funding it (which they did to the tune of $300,000).  One arm, the Hui O Maui Citizens for Change, was run by a Nevada guy who spent the election in Puerto Vallarta.  The other arm, a ballot issue committee, carried the strenuous appellation “Vote No on Charter Amendments Hui O Maui Nui We Can’t Afford It.” The only visible name was that of its chairman/treasurer/custodian of books, Buddy James Nobriga.

Nobriga dodged any and all attempts to question him about his organizations’ donors during the 2020 election. (I know. I was the source of many of them.) By election’s end, Nobriga’s Hui O Maui committee had spent $120,000 trying to defeat all seven charter amendments.  Only one failed: the amendment to establish a county Managing Director position.

Hui O Maui has disappeared from the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission’s books this election season, and though we will never know who was behind it, I am told that it was a group of powerful Maui business interests.  I’m going to bet that some of their names are showing up on certain candidate donor lists this year, and I applaud them for stepping out of the shadows and putting their names and money on the record.

Nobriga’s failure to enlighten us about Hui O Maui’s donors during the 2020 race still gives me major heartburn. However, he did tell former Board of Water Supply colleague Shay Chan Hodges during a Maui Pono Network candidate interview in May (around the 14 minute mark) that he “learned from that situation” and now believes that campaigns should be “transparent.”

Who Gave?

So let’s take a look at who’s behind Nobriga’s $22,854 in campaign contributions, which represents 53.5% of the money raised in the Kahului race as of the latest June 30 reporting deadline (reports can be found here).

Among those maxing out with $2,000 donations (there were five, or 44% of all his contributions) are many of the same names we’ve seen supporting candidates in other races, mayoral and council. The Goodfellow construction family was again out in force, with four members donating a total of $3,000. Also contributing $2000, Larry Ellison’s Lanai Resorts, and Cement Finishers and Plasters’ Local 630. Another $2,000 came from Nobriga’s aunt, Isabella Bissen, who is married to mayoral challenger Richard Bissen.

Nobriga received almost $4,000 from two different arms of the Hawaii Carpenters union:  the Market Recovery Fund Pact ($1,812) and its Political Action Fund (also $1,812). Plus, the Resort Owners Coalition’s national political action committee weighed in with $500, as it has in a number of local races.

Kama cash

Kama’s five $2000 contributions represent 73% of the money she’s raised this election season. It includes $2,000 from one Goodfellow, (and $1,000 each from two other family members), plus additional $2000 donations from developer Everett Dowling, ILWU Local 142, the Plumbers and Fitters Local 675, and from the J. Kalani English Election Committee.

English?  Our former state senator who just went to jail on bribery charges? It’s not a name you see a lot these days on donation lists. When I called Kama’s campaign manager for comment, he already had a statement prepared.

“Because the former senator’s donation was made from his remaining campaign funds,” Kama said in the statement, “I felt that his contribution to the ‘Friends of Tasha Kama’ virtual fundraiser in May 2022 was no different from any other donations I have received from individuals across Maui County.”

Kamekona Spends Little on Rematch

Carol Lee Kamekona has never been a prolific primary fund-raiser. At this point in the 2020 election, she had raised exactly nothing.  However, she succeeded in bumping off Alan Arakawa in the three-way primary and came close to defeating Kama in the general election.  This primary season, she’s raised just $649, but she also has the endorsement of Maui progressive groups as part of its slate of “’Ohana Coalition” candidates.

Unfortunately, for challengers Flores, Pedro, Schwartz and Watanabe, it’s unlikely that their name recognition will surpass the three headliners already in the race. That’s even though Flores and Pedro raised more money to date than Kamekona–$2,548 and $2,300, respectively. Schwartz has raised $622; Keoni Watanabe, $25. Without name recognition, it’s hard to raise money and without money, it’s hard to improve name recognition. I really feel for these contenders, especially Flores, an ardent community activist, and Pedro, who has a strong record of public service. It’s a crappy double-edged sword that could be dulled by public financing of elections.

I’m not holding my breath.