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.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii man known as a “master of disguise” has been sentenced for walking away from work furlough.

Tyler Adams will serve five years for the escape charge in addition to the years left on for his theft convictions.

The attorney general’s office asked for consecutive sentences because of his history of fraud.

Adams claimed he escaped and left Laumaka Work Furlough in 2019 because he was being assaulted and extorted in Halawa Correctional Facility.

His attorney, Myles Breiner, told the circuit court judge that he was afraid of the gangs in the prison.

“The gangs run the system. The guards give them free run so long as they don’t cause trouble for the guards,” Breiner said.

Deputy Attorney General Adrian Dhakhwa said Adams deserves the consecutive time because he didn’t turn himself in; he was captured four years after he escaped.

“He not only left the jurisdiction, he re-offended,” Dhakhwa said. “He got subsequent convictions in Texas and California.”

Breiner told the judge his client won’t be getting out of prison because he is wanted in the federal system for other crimes including border violations and a murder case.

He is accused of killing his girlfriend whose body was found in Tijuana, Mexico. No charges could be found on the federal court system, but Breiner said in court that he was in touch with deputy U.S. attorneys out of San Diego who told him his client was wanted for the murder case.

While Adams lived in Hawaii, he was also known as Kevin Kennedy, Lance Irwin, and Michael Whittman, supposedly names of students at the University of Hawaii law school.

Adams, who is now 52, was taken into custody in Newport Beach, California last year and was extradited to Hawaii.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

Central Pacific Bancorp in Honolulu, reportedly in talks this year to buy Hawaiian Electric’s American Savings Bank, said deal discussions are now on ice.

“While the parties are no longer currently engaged in discussions, we remain interested in the opportunity under the right terms and conditions,” Central Pacific Chairman and CEO Arnold Martines said Wednesday during the $7.4 billion-asset bank’s third quarter earnings call.

He said Central Pacific recorded $3.1 million in pretax expenses “related to our evaluation and assessment of a strategic opportunity.”

He did not name American Savings. When asked by an analyst for more detail, Martines said, “At this point, we cannot comment on this further. We just can’t comment further about it.”

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg in September reported that Central Pacific was in discussions with multiple alternative asset managers to help buy the $9.3 billion-asset American Savings from Hawaiian Electric, the utility under scrutiny for its role in the August 2023 Lahaina wildfires that devastated a town on the island of Maui and killed more than 100 people.

Central Pacific reported third-quarter net income of $13.3 million, or 49 cents per share. Those results compared with net income of $13.1 million, or 49 cents, a year earlier.

Excluding the expense hit related to the deal talks, Central Pacific said its adjusted net income was $15.7 million, or 58 cents per share.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Hawaiian Electric was looking to sell American Savings to create a cash buffer against dozens of lawsuits across state and federal courts. Many of the complaints accused the utility of sparking the blazes that ultimately caused more than $5 billion of property damage.

After that report, Evercore ISI analyst Michael Lonegan noted that the bank was in a strong financial position and had suffered minimal direct impact from the fires. “We would value the bank in the range of $600-$800 million in these circumstances,” Lonegan said.

American Savings, also based in Honolulu, on Wednesday reported third-quarter net income of $18.8 million, up from $11.4 million a year earlier. As a unit of Hawaiian Electric, it does not hold an earnings call.

“We remain well-positioned to support our customers and community for the long term, with a strong capital and liquidity position, strong credit quality, and ample lending capacity,” Ann Teranishi, president and CEO of American Savings, said in the bank’s earnings release.

Hawaiian Electric is scheduled to report earnings and hold a call with analysts on Nov. 8.

Earlier this month, authorities culminated an investigation with a report blaming the Lahaina fire on Hawaiian Electric. The report from the Maui Fire Department and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the disaster was started from a blaze caused by broken power lines.

“We deeply regret that our operations contributed to the fire. … We have looked closely at our protocols and actions that day and have made many changes in our operations and resilience strategies to ensure we fulfill our commitment to keep the public safe, especially in extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and severe,” Hawaiian Electric said in a statement.

American Savings is not the only Hawaiian bank on the potential sale block. The $17.4 billion-asset Hope Bancorp in Los Angeles agreed in April to an all-stock deal valued at $78.6 million to buy Territorial Bancorp in Honolulu. Hope said its offer priced Territorial at $8.82 per share and that it expected to close the transaction by Dec. 31. 

The seller’s shareholders are slated to vote on the pending sale to Hope on Nov. 6. Approval is hardly a sure thing, however, given there is a competing offer on the table. An investor group led by Blue Hill Advisors and former Bank of Hawaii CEO Allan Landon made a competing offer in August. Its initial cash bid valued Territorial at $12 per share. It has since upped that to $12.50 per share. 

More than 100 banks announced plans to sell in 2024. That put the industry ahead of last year’s total of 98 deals, according to updated data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

One of the biggest transactions of the year was announced this month. Atlantic Union Bankshares in Richmond, Virginia, said it would acquire Sandy Spring Bancorp in Olney, Maryland, for $1.6 billion of stock. It marked the third-largest bank acquisition announced this year by deal value.

Winter Haven, Florida-based SouthState Corp.’s May announcement that it would pay $2 billion in stock to acquire Independent Bank Group in McKinney, Texas, was the largest bank deal to date in 2024. Kansas City-based UMB Financial’s April plan to purchase Heartland Financial USA in Denver in an all-stock transaction valued at just under $2 billion was second.