Hawaii County Mayor's Race Is Getting Lots Of Cash This Year

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth has raised and spent tens of thousands of dollars more than his opponent, Kimo Alameda, in his bid to win a second term.

But so far that’s been noticeably less than at the same point four years ago, when Roth easily beat Ikaika Marzo, a business owner.

Marzo in 2020 had far fewer campaign resources than Alameda in 2024, who has attracted a broad range of donations in the contest and is considered a more serious rival.

Both candidates have also held several fundraisers in the waning days of the general election, illustrating their need for cash to garner votes on Hawaii’s largest island.

Roth asked for money at Duc’s Bistro in Honolulu and the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel in September, while Alameda held four fundraisers in September — one each at the Kaimana Hotel in Honolulu and at the Kona Elks Club, and two at the Hilo Lagoon Center.

Roth reported more than $330,000 in contributions, including $50,000 from Sept. 17 through Oct. 21, which covers the latest filing period. Alameda received $284,000 in contributions, with $28,000 coming in during the recent reporting period.

Meanwhile, Roth outspent Alameda by $100,000 — $340,000 to $241,000. Roth is depending heavily on TV advertising. Most of the $109,000 he paid during the recent filing period went to Hamburger Group Creative of Washington, D.C.

For his part, Alameda expended $44,000 during the same period, nearly half of it going to Oahu Publications (it owns newspapers in Hilo and Kailua-Kona) for print ads.

Both candidates have received a number of donations from local sources willing to shell out a minimum $1,000.

For Roth, they include executives with Hilo Auto Sales, Commercial Plumbing and Kona Salt Farm. Groups giving to the mayor include Hawaii Operating Engineers Industry Stabilization, Hilo Opportunity Zone Fund, General Contractors Association of Hawaii and Big Island Federal Credit Union.

Alameda has received similarly sized donations from executives with Big Island Grown, JL Hauling and Dickinson General Contracting. Local Union 1186 IBEW PAC Fund also gave $1,000 in the recent reporting period.

The challenger, a clinic administrator and psychologist, also received $10,000 from executives with businesses in Washington state such as Cedar Grove Electric and Emerald Services.

Senate Races Of Interest

The Roth-Alameda race, which is nonpartisan, is perhaps the most high profile contested election statewide, but there are other competitive, partisan races that have attracted media and donor attention.

They include two races for the state Senate and several in the state House of Representatives.

Republican Sen. Brenton Awa is in his first term representing District 23 (Kaneohe, Kahaluu through Laie, Kahuku to Mokuleia, Schofield Barracks and Kunia Camp) and is one of only two GOP members in the 25-member Senate.

Awa, a former television newscaster, has spoken publicly about his disdain for campaign contributions. He believes donations unduly influence legislators.

To that end, Awa has raised a mere $2,000 and spent just half of it this election cycle. He reported no contributions in his most recent filing and spent nothing on his campaign.

That stands in contrast to his Democratic opponent. And unlike Awa, Ben Shafer faced a primary opponent, former state Sen. Clayton Hee.

Shafer’s latest filing shows that he has a negative cash balance of $1,300, having spent more than the $67,000 he received in contributions.

His most recent contributors include state Sen. Les Ihara, former legislator Pono Chong, Sheetmetal Workers Local Union 293 and AFSCME Local 646.

The District 23 seat has switched parties several times. In an indication of how fluid relations and loyalties can be, a former occupant of the seat, Gil Riviere, sponsored two fundraisers in September for Shafer at Duc’s Bistro. Riviere, a former Republican, narrowly lost his seat to Awa in 2022 as a Democrat.

Another Senate race pits Democrat Cedric Gates against Republican Samantha DeCorte. The District 22 seat (Koolina, Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, Makaha and Makua) is temporarily occupied by Cross Makani Crabbe, who was appointed to the position this summer to replace Democrat Maile Shimabukuro, who stepped down in May and endorsed Gates.

Gates, a state representative, pulled in $139,000 in contributions and spent $148,000. But he still has $12,000 in cash on hand, thanks in part to funds transferred from his previous House campaigns.

Recent contributors to Gates include Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole. Gates spent $17,000 during the latest reporting period, including for advertisements in the publication Westside Stories and to pay for postage on mailers.

DeCorte has raised and spent far more modestly — $48,000 and $36,000, respectively. Contributors include businessman Christopher Flaherty. DeCorte’s latest expenditures include paying for graphic design, printing and text messaging.

And In The House

The District 22 race is one of several in the Ewa and Westside regions of Oahu that have seen Republicans make gains in recent elections. They include three House races where GOP incumbents hope to fend off Democratic challengers. Democrats currently hold 45 of the 51 House seats.

In one of those races, Democrat Corey Rosenlee, a former head of the Hawiai State Teachers Association, is challenging Rep. Elijah Pierick for the District 39 seat (Royal Kunia, Village Park, Honouliuli, Hoopili and portions of Waipahu).

Rosenlee has raised $30,000 in donations but has spent $47,000, an amount that includes $20,000 the candidate gave to himself. His contributors include the HGEA Political Contribution Account, the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly, the United Public Workers PAC and state Reps. Della Au Belatti and Sean Quinlan.

The candidate spent $22,000, according to his most recent filing, with most of the money going to pay for mailing campaign postcards.

Pierick reported $40,000 in contributions in the current election cycle but has spent only $17,000. Most of his expenses went to Meta, the company that runs Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

One of the contributors to Pierick, James Adamson, is listed on Pierick’s filing as having an unknown occupation because, as the representative wrote in his report, “I was sign waving and he gave me a check.”

House and Senate districts are much smaller political divisions than counties, which is why legislative campaigns spend so much money on mailers and postage.

Anthony Makana Paris, a Democrat running against GOP incumbent Diamond Garcia in District 42 (portions of Varona Village, Ewa, and Kapolei, and Fernandez Village), paid Cardinal Services of Honolulu nearly $5,000 for printing and mailing charges in October. Roughly the same amount went to Service Printers of Honolulu for similar services.

Paris has spent $38,440 this election, using up nearly all of the $39,275 he raised. Contributors include Masons Local 630 PAC.

Garcia has raised and spent much less. Contributors include Pono Petroleum of Kapolei, while expenditures include $590 to American Campaign Finance of Honolulu for a database subscription. Garcias also paid Villages of Kapolei magazine $1,397 for an advertisement.

Meanwhile, GOP incumbent David Alcos is up against Democrat John Clark III in the District 41 House seat (portion of Ewa Beach, Ocean Pointe and Barbers Point). Neither had raised much money, nor spent much.

Nevertheless, Alcos paid $1,535 for food and beverage related to his campaign at the Costco Wholesale Corporation Golf Tournament Event, and another $2,940 for events and activities at the Coral Creek Golf Course in Ewa Beach. And Clark paid $1,257 to Reskyu of Honolulu for postcards and $2,717 to Cardinal Mailing Services of Honolulu for postage fees to mail the postcards.