Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters has kept his seat, but the Council will see three new faces following Tuesday’s general election.
Four seats in the nine-
member Council were up
for election this year, in
districts 2, 4, 6 and 8.
Waters easily sailed to reelection to the District 4 seat, which covers Waikiki through Kaimuki to Hawaii Kai. He was challenged by against Coast Guard veteran Kaleo Nakoa. Waters’ campaign focused on clean drinking water, affordable housing and homelessness, while Nakoa’s main theme was government transparency.
District 4 was the only seat with an incumbent running for office, leaving the other three open.
Matt Weyer claimed the District 2 seat over fellow political newcomer Makua Rothman. The district covers Royal Kunia, Wahiawa and along the North Shore to Kahaluu. The seat was left open when current Council member Heidi Tsuneyoshi decided to run for governor, unsuccessfully as it turned out.
Weyer and Rothman come from distinctly different backgrounds. Weyer is a lawyer from Waikele who works as a planner in the city Department of Community Services. Rothman is a big-wave surfer who grew up on the North Shore.
Weyer’s campaign focused on the high cost of
living, housing and infrastructure needs, while Rothman’s top issue was “the capability of opportunity” for constituents.
“I’m super humbled and appreciative to have connected with so much of our community,” Weyer said Tuesday night. “It’s clear from the results that our message has resonated. My heart is full and it’s really, really humbling.”
He will likely have allies on the Council, as he got donations from the campaign committees for Waters and District 3 Council member Esther Kia‘aina. Meanwhile, Council member Andria Tupola’s campaign donated to Rothman, who also paid Tupola’s company $32,000 for professional consulting
services.
In the District 6 race, which covers Downtown through Nuuanu and Kalihi Valley, Tyler Dos Santos-Tam clinched the seat against opponent Traci Toguchi.
The seat was left open after Council member Carol Fukunaga reached her term limit. Toguchi is a legislative analyst for Fukunaga, and Dos Santos-Tam is former executive director of the Hawaii Construction Alliance and co-founder of HI Good Neighbor, a group fighting against so-called monster homes.
Dos Santos-Tam positioned himself as a candidate of change, while Toguchi promoted herself as a continuation of Fukunaga’s leadership. Both candidates focused their campaigns on crime and housing, although they differed in their approach.
“We’ve been working hard all the way to the end,” Dos Santos-Tam said Tuesday night. “We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and ready to take action. And so I look forward to joining our existing Council members as well as the new ones.”
Waters’ campaign also donated funds to Dos Santos-
Tam, as did former Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
Two familiar faces in Hawaii politics ran a competitive race in District 8. Val Okimoto, Republican minority leader in the state House of Representatives, was able to garner enough votes to defeat former Council member Ron Menor.
District 8 encompasses Pearl City through Mililani and was one of the districts most affected by the 2021 reapportionment process, which adjusted district boundary lines according to updated population data from the U.S. census. One of the biggest changes was that Mililani town and Mililani Mauka became part of District 8.
The Council seat was left open as current Council member Brandon Elefante reached his term limit.
Menor held the District 9 Council seat until he reached his term limit in 2021, but due to redistricting he was able to run for the District 8 seat. Menor centered his campaign on what he called “quality of life issues,” while Okimoto’s key issues were economic development and public safety.
While Menor largely ran on his past record as a Council member, Okimoto highlighted her three-year government experience as a state lawmaker, adding that constituents are ready for change and new leadership that she believes she can provide.
