Hawaii’s gubernatorial hopefuls exchange barbs in heated debate

The leading Democratic candidates to become Hawaii’s next governor quickly went after one another in their first live joint appearance Wednesday — especially when it came to the source of campaign donations to Lt. Gov. Josh Green and U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele.

At one point during a special one-hour episode of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program, Kahele called Green’s campaign “a joke” for accepting donations from mainland corporations and “Big Pharma.” Green said Kahele had previously accepted “thousands and thousands” from disgraced Hawaii business leaders Dennis Mitsunaga and Milton Choy.

Mitsunaga, president and CEO of Mitsunaga & Associates, faces federal charges of conspiring with former Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro to charge a former employee with four counts of felony theft in exchange for campaign contributions.

Choy, owner of H20 Process Systems and Fluid Technologies, began cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice after he was caught in an investigation that led to guilty pleas in February from former state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and Rep. Ty J.K. Cullen, former vice chairman of the House Committee on Finance.

Fellow candidate Vicky Cayetano and Green also tangled, particularly over Cayetano’s role as former chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and the chamber’s opposition to bills that Green said would have raised the minimum wage and otherwise helped working families.

The chamber “fought against” workers’ rights, a living wage, paid family leave and prohibitions against discrimination in the workplace, Green said.

They quarreled over Cayetano’s role in the chamber’s positions and, at one point, Cayetano told Green that “I would hope you would stop spreading that misinformation. … Don’t go about spreading lies.”

Green responded, “We have bill after bill after bill while Mrs. Cayetano was a leader at the chamber and none of them were pro labor.”

Both accused their opponent’s supporters of conducting “smear” campaigns against them.

All agreed that building thousands of affordable housing units is critical.

If elected governor, Green said he would use the office’s emergency power to call for a “moon shot” to develop over 50,000 affordable units, clamp down on illegal rental units and “severely” tax unoccupied units to add housing that could be used for teachers and nurses and to keep young residents home.

Cayetano said she would declare a housing state of emergency “to fast-track and build” units aimed at workforce housing and affordable rental units. The business entrepreneur and former first lady blamed the lack of affordable housing on a political “chokehold” and vowed to “break through the bureaucracy.”

Kahele said he would call for a “100-day innovation challenge” for new affordable housing ideas from everyone, including residents, counties, nonprofit groups and elected officials. Instead of a new Aloha Stadium, Kahele would rather see 10,000 affordable homes in Halawa, along with maximizing public land to develop housing along the city’s planned rail line.

The differences were often stark.

Kahele, a Native Hawaiian raised in Hilo, opposes building the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea; Cayetano supports the project; and Green — a Kona emergency room physician — said he supports science and astronomy but Native Hawaiian grievances need to be addressed before proceeding with TMT.

While Kahele supports legalizing recreational marijuana, Cayetano is opposed. And Green is supportive as long as funds go to law enforcement, drug treatment and to address depression and mental illness.

There were some personal moments during their “Spotlight Hawaii” appearance, such as when Kahele suggested he was a problem student who attended all three of Hilo’s high schools and now wishes he had “applied” himself more in school.

Cayetano, a dog lover, wished she had grown up with dogs.

Asked if Green would like the governor to pick his or her running mate, Green — who has sometimes clashed with his boss, Gov. David Ige — said no.

“I’m going to say no because I probably would never have existed as lieutenant governor if that had happened,” Green said.

Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are running independently in the Aug. 13 party primary election. The winners will then run as a party slate in the Nov. 8 general election.

Wednesday’s joint appearance was notable for the tensions among the three candidates — especially directed at Green.

Kahele and Green previously served together in the state Senate representing different parts of Hawaii island. Any collegiality from the past appeared dead.

During another squabble over the source of their campaign donations, Green said he was “disappointed” in Kahele after “having had a good relationship” with him.

After Green failed to answer “yes” or “no”“ on whether to build TMT, Kahele said: “He can’t take a position. He’s never been known to take a position.”

Kahele also accused Green of risking a larger fuel disaster at Red Hill by proposing in December that Par Hawaii be contracted to store hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel from the Navy’s Red Hill storage site.

The congressman said Green has accepted thousands of dollars in donations from Par Hawaii executives and risks making “a crisis of astronomical proportions even worse” by not going through 200 recommended safety procedures first.

Green said he was serving as acting governor “when Red Hill reared its ugly head” and provided “leadership on the spot.”

“Your entire career has been built and predicated on taking money from special interests,” Green told Kahele. “Your record has no credibility on this matter.”

Green explained that he turned to Par Hawaii after forming a relationship with the oil company that provided fuel for Hawaiian Airlines for a medical mission that Green led in 2019 to vaccinate and treat Samoans during a measles epidemic that resulted in 37,000 vaccinations in 48 hours.

“That’s why I knew them (Par Hawaii) … and knew we could rely on them going forward. … I will work with anybody who could help solve a problem.”

Green also said his goal is to diversify Par Hawaii into a greener company.

“We don’t want them carrying fossil fuels in the future,” he said.

The arguing between Green and Kahele allowed Cayetano — who had the final words — to distinguish herself from “politicians talking back and forth.”

Cayetano, a political newcomer with a business background, said Democratic voters on Aug. 13 can choose a politician “or carve a new path of possibility and prosperity.”

———

ON THE NET:

>> To view a replay of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program, visit bit.ly/3ntDtNm