Honolulu Weekly

Did you know Hawaii has the lowest voter-turnout in the United States? Let’s work on that one. In the meantime, here are your thoughts about the best and worst in local politics.

Best Local Politician (Performance in office)

Mufi Hannemann

Best local politician (media savvy)

Mufi Hannemann

It’s Mufi’s world, we’re just living in it. Say what you will, this is a guy who once seemed likely to go the way of so many ambitious young Honolulu politicians and fade before he ever really bloomed. Now he’s king of the mountain, with his sights set on higher office. Worth noting, however: Hannemann won the “media savvy” category by a wide margin, but Gary Hooser made it a race when it came to performance in office. With rail far from a foregone conclusion, some around Honolulu Hale are whispering that Mufi’s ambition, long considered a potentially fatal weakness, could yet be his undoing. Should he have stayed on as mayor and finished the job on rail, instead of taking on Neil Abercrombie on for the governor’s job? Time will tell.

You said: “I better skip this whole part.”

Best non-profit organization

No winner

Oh irony: The non-profit category was host to the most electoral funny business of any we asked about this year. The winning organization was one few residents have ever heard of, as were several close runners up. In lieu of declaring a winner, we prefer to direct you to our 2009 Sustainability Guide, where we offer a long list of worthy, underfunded groups that are desperate for your kokua, and your support.

Best Environmental organization

The Sierra Club

It wasn’t unanimous–after the SuperFerry debacle, we suppose that’s to be expected–but the Sierra Club carried the day despite more than a few pleas for “anybody but the Sierra Club.” In the fractious environmental movement, new executive director Robert D. Harris has his work cut out for him.

Best Replacement for Mufi

Kirk Caldwell

You know it’s been a hell of a year in local politics when Ann Kobayashi hands her City Council seat to Duke Bainum and then ends up back in that same office the next year–though not before some dude fresh out of law school comes within shouting distance of straight-up buying District 5. The odd man out was former Manoa Rep. Kirk Caldwell, who somehow landed safely anyway as City Managing Director and now looks like a front-runner for the Mayor’s office. What a deal. No wonder one reader was moved to write:

You said: “Inouye will appoint someone.”

Best replacement for Neil

Ed Case

Longtime District 1 Representative Neil Abercrombie is leaving office to run for Governor, and former District 2 Congressman Ed Case is your choice to succeed him. Funny, that’s exactly what Case thinks. According to our calculations, Case has now offered his services for three of Hawaii’s four seats in Washington (both House seats and Sen. Akaka’s Senate office). That’s not even including his failed bid for governor in 2002. Quite a run for a guy who was still sitting in the Legislature a decade ago. The scary thing is, Case is only in his 50s! You know he’s going after Inouye’s seat no matter what: It is entirely possible that by the time he’s through, Ed Case will have run for all six statewide and national offices. He’s already set the all-time record–no one else has ever topped three–but this would be an achievement (or something) never to be topped. “CASE FOR LT. GOV 2018: MAKE IT A CLEAN SWEEP!” Please let this happen.

Best candidate for Governor not named Mufi or Neil

Ed Case

There it is, then.

You said: “Mango man.”

Best use of taxpayer dollars

Rail

Best way to save taxpayer dollars

No rail

Sigh.

You said: “Don’t eat.”

Editors’ Pick: Best enormously important something that nobody knows anything about

The Akaka Bill

Well do you? The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act is the single most important political question of this decade. Thanks to the deafening roar around rail transit, and to the overall confusion/apathy in the general public about Hawaiian issues, the Akaka bill has ambled along without fully capturing public attention. There is every reason to believe, however, that the bill will pass the Senate this year and be signed into law by President Obama. When that happens, a political process of enormous consequence to all of us, and particularly to Hawaiians, will begin to take shape. We should be paying much closer attention.