How big a role will any endorsement of candidates who did not make it out of the primary play in the Nov. 7 general election for county offices?
In the 2002 mayoral election Rob Parsons ran for mayor and came up third with 3,819 votes. He endorsed Alan Arakawa over James “Kimo” Apana and Arakwa won the election by a little over 1,000 votes. Parsons then was hired as environmental coordinator, an appointed position, by Arakawa.
Could one of the nine mayoral candidates play the role of kingmaker in this election?
Apana finished third in the recent primary election, with 6,366 votes. Apana says he is in the process of meeting with the candidates and hasn’t decided as of press time whether to endorse anyone. Did Parsons’ endorsement of Arakawa cause Apana to lose the 2002 election?
“I think people chose between the remaining candidates,” says Apana. After he spoke to Haleakala Times for this story he appeared at a fundraiser for Charmaine Tavares, according to her campaign manager Nancy Biery.
Lucienne de Naie also finished third in her bid for a seat on the Maui County Council, with 5,620 votes in the four-person race.
“I think Rob’s endorsement for Alan had an effect,” says de Naie. She says she has not made a formal endorsement for either Sam Kalalau, who finished ahead of her in the race for the East Maui residency seat with 5,924 votes or Bill Medeiros, who won the primary election with 8,866 votes.
“I like Sam as a person but his support for the Superferry is troubling,” she says. She says she is also in the process of meeting candidates to decide who to support, both for mayor and council.
She and Lance Holter will host a mayoral debate that will air live on Akaku television Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. The debate will be sponsored by the Sierra Club and will focus on environmental issues and planning.
The people who supported de Naie are motivated voters, she says, as were the people who supported Nick Nikhilananda, who finished fourth in the East Maui Council race, with 2,406 votes.
“The people who supported me were not wishy washy,” she says. “My endorsement could make a difference.”
John Blumer-Buell finished fifth in the mayoral race, with 492 votes, and got the most votes in Hana and Keanae. He says he plans to meet with Charmaine Tavares but has not formally endorsed anyone yet. Tavares finished first in the primary with 8,701 votes.
“I don’t know where that will lead,” says Blumer-Buell of the Tavares meeting. He knows he is not seeking a job. He is interested in advocating for issues affecting east Maui.
Arakawa acknowledges Parson’s support may have made a difference in the 2000 election. But he points out that if patterns of past elections hold true, more than twice as many people will vote in the general election as voted in the primary.
“The issues are different (in the general election),” says Arakawa, who finished second in the primary with 7,689 votes. With nine candidates, there was little opportunity to explore in depth candidates’ positions on issues at candidate forums, he says. “It was all touchy feely,” he says of the primary. “Now it will be about issues.”
In addition to the Sierra Club debate there will be a series of other candidate forums, including: Oct. 11 Maui Nui Housing Task Force forum, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Maui Economic Opportunity Inc. in Wailuku; Oct. 17, Kihei Community Association forum beginning at 6 p.m. at the Kihei Community Center; Oct. 19, Realtors Association of Maui forum, beginning at 5 p.m. at the King Kamehameha Clubhouse at Waikapu; Oct. 19, Haiku Community Association forum, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Haiku Community Center.