Honolulu Weekly

The latest reports disclosing campaign fundraising and expenditures by state and local candidates during the first six months of the year confirm the popular impression that campaigning, along with the largely behind-the-scenes search for money to fuel the process, is a nonstop enterprise even during non-election years.

Lt. Gov. James ‘Duke’ Aiona, who has announced his plans to run for governor in 2010, led the money race with five scheduled fundraisers that brought in $580,215 during the six-month period ending on June 30.

Aiona’s total during this initial period has already exceeded the $525,137 he raised during the four years from 2003-2006, although it was well behind the $718,134 raised by Gov. Linda Lingle during a similar period at the beginning of her 2006 reelection campaign.

There were 49 contributors who gave $6,000 each to the Aiona campaign, the maximum allowed by law for candidates for statewide office.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who runs for re-election next year, received more than 600 contributions totaling $458,575 during the period. There were 18 contributors who gave the maximum $4,000 each allowed by law, including 10 from out of state.

Six executives from Colliers Monroe Friedlander gave the mayor a total of $14,000. The firm was ranked as the largest commercial real estate company in the state by Pacific Business News and was recently acquired by a Canadian corporation.

Eight execs with the engineering firm R.M. Towill combined to give the mayor $10,300, while Nishihama & Kishida, a local accounting firm, and the Bank of Hawai’i each had four employees who gave a combined $5,000.

State Rep. Josh Green, who was just reelected in November 2006 to a second term in the House and almost immediately announced the start of a 2008 bid for a Senate seat, topped all legislators by raising $47,480 during the first six months of 2007.

Sen. Clayton Hee, who represents a district stretching from Kane’ohe to La’ie, was a close second with $41,700. Sen. Donna Mercado Kim followed with $29,264 and Rep. Michael Magaoay, who represents O’ahu’s North Shore, was next with $25,750.

Five other members in both the House and Senate, all Democrats, reported raising more than $15,000 each during the period.

Overall, members of the state House reported raising $381,141 between January 1 and June 30, with over 95 percent of the total going to Democrats. Rep. Gene Ward was the only Republican among the top 20 fundraisers in the House during this period, with total receipts of $7,575.

House Speaker Calvin Say reported taking in no campaign contributions during the period and spending less than $1,000, while Senate President Colleen Hanabusa took in just $3,000 but spent $25,778 during the period.

Hanabusa, who faces reelection next year, made three payments totaling $14,000 to Brand Strategy Group of Kailua for work on a campaign website.

Expenses often tell as much about a campaign as reported contributions. For example, five senators who held a joint ‘Thank God It’s Over’ fundraising event at the end of the legislative session (Kim, Norman Sakamoto, Shan Tsutsui, Gary Hooser and Clarence Nishihara) reported reimbursing lobbyist George ‘Red’ Morris $150 for two cases of wine and five cases of beer served at the fundraiser, a small hint of the way top lobbyists build relations with key legislators. The senators also spent $851.03 at Nick’s Fishmarket in Waikiki for a ‘fundraiser evaluation dinner.’

Campaign reports filed with the Campaign Spending Commission are available for viewing online ([www.hawaii.gov/campaign]).

For more reports from Ian Lind, visit [www.iLind.net].