Someone Got to Harris (Dem Mayor unexpectedly drops out of Hawaii Governor Race)

Don’t Buy it: Point Spread is Not a Viable Excuse for Resigning This Early in the Political Game

Gov. Benjamin Cayetano reportedly was 35-points behind opponent Linda Lingle in political polls, even up through the final weeks of the 1998 gubernatorial campaign -– a race he ultimately won by around 1.5 percent of the vote.

Former Gov. John Waihee also trailed far behind his Democratic primary opponent Cec Heftel in the 1986 gubernatorial election. Heftel lost a great majority of his support in the final days of the campaign because of smear tactics used against him, and so Waihee went on to beat Heftel and his Republican opponent, becoming governor.

Former Mayor Frank Fasi, who was elected mayor several times throughout his lengthily political career, also trailed in the polls several times, yet won his election and re-elections and swears off polling, saying it is not a reliable practice.

So when Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris announced yesterday that he will not step down as mayor to run for governor because he is too far behind in the polls, well that just doesn’t make any political common sense. Harris used the excuse that Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Linda Lingle had a 22 point advantage in the polls and he just can’t win. But with Don Clegg, one of the state’s best political strategists and pollers on Harris’ side, Harris surely could have overcome this point spread. Many others have with Clegg’s help.

Even Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Andy Anderson isn’t buying Harris’ excuse, saying he knows from his own experience that trailing in polls at this time in a political race is nothing to be concerned about.

Anderson is right. There has to be more. Just think about it. Nothing has stopped this man.

Harris wanted to be mayor and when Frank Fasi was about to fire him just weeks before resigning to run for governor, Harris, who was Fasi’s managing director, pleaded with Fasi, even sobbed, according to Fasi, not to fire him and to allow him to become mayor. Fasi caved. Harris was in.

There have been numerous scandals in the city arising under Harris’ administration, each of which Harris has shrugged off with little effort or accountability.

Ewa Villages was one of the biggest financially, with city manager Michael Kahapea busted for stealing more than $5 million from the city. Kahapea was in charge of relocating people and businesses from Ewa Villages after the city took over the property to renovate and make it a "historic" plantation area. He is now in jail, but the money is gone, lost in Las Vegas to a gambling debt. Other problems in Ewa have come out in lawsuits, and the people who live in the homes the city poorly renovated continue to seethe.

There was the police-prisoner scandal, where policemen were caught stealing food from prisoners -– an incident that people jokingly refer to as "lambgate."

There was the golf course scandal, where three city employees were caught taking bribes at a city golf course, the Ala Wai Golf Course, in exchange for favorable tee times, a hot commodity there.

There was the automobile parts scandal where stolen car parts ended up in the hands of a policeman.

The Clyde Arakawa case where Arakawa, a policeman, was allowed by fellow policemen to walk around a crime scene after killing Dana Ambrose when he ran a red light while intoxicated. Arakawa is in prison for the killing.

Then most recently, there was the indictment of 8 liquor inspectors, who allegedly took bribes and extorted money in exchange for ignoring liquor license violations. All were taken off the job.

Ongoing has been the scandal Harris cannot easily escape because it involves his now failed campaign for governor. The deal: did contractors hired by the city for construction jobs in up to 60 cases being investigated get the jobs awarded to them because they made political contributions to the mayor in exchange for the contracts. And if this did happen, was Harris condoning this activity?

Other troubles, Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi has continued to point out how Harris and his administration have lied about the health of the city’s finances. She reviewed the budget proposed by the mayor carefully, unveiling many problems with his fiscal management. She said Harris had gotten the city into such poor financial shape that he was borrowing money for salaries, to pay off the interest payments on $2 billion the city borrowed, and under the city’s capital improvement project fund for small ticket items such as video cameras and jet skis. She also pointed out his priorities: while the city funded more than $1 million worth of parties for citizens in the form of Breakfast on the Beach and Sunset in the Beach, city safety and sanitation projects were ignored because they were too costly.

Then there was the challenge by Russell Blair, former legislator and state judge who sued the Harris campaign to force Harris to step down as mayor because he was campaigning for the governorship while still acting as mayor. Blair won the first go around, but Harris was determined and took the case to the Hawaii Supreme Court where he recently won his appeal.

So we know by his actions that Harris will go to the mat to defend himself and his campaign. And we know it's not the polls that really make a difference to those running, and not the past city scandals that made Harris step down, swallow his pride and reign in his ego long enough to say he just could not beat Lingle and he just could not win. What is it really?

Knowing Harris’ extreme ambition for power and money, there are three possibilities that could have led him to change his mind:

He’s threatened by the city, state and federal governments’ investigation into his campaign practices and expenditures and so stopped his campaigning. He was asked to step aside by someone so important and powerful that he did. One possibility is Sen. Daniel Inouye in town for the Hawaii Democrat Convention this weekend. Inouye and other powerful Democrats may be concerned that even if the Harris investigation does not lead anywhere before the election, it may be more of an embarrassment for Harris or those close to him to be indicted while he is governor, than if he is mayor. Harris was offered something better: Cash, power, promises for appointments to the U.S. Congress or elsewhere.

The bottom line is someone got to Harris. Whether it was by cutting a deal or with threats or a combination.

What should voters expect next? An unexpected endorsement by the politically powerful Democrats at their convention this weekend.

It won’t be Ed Case they endorse -– he is a maverick. It won’t be Andy Anderson they endorse -– he is the former head of the Republican Party of Hawaii. It won’t be Mazie Hirono –- she’s a woman and she didn’t have the support to pull it off.

So who will the gubernatorial candidate of choice be for the old political boys? Names that have been floated: U.S. Congressman Neil Abercrombie, former governor John Waihee, powerful Banker and Democratic Political Strategist Walter Dods.

No matter who it is, this weekend’s convention is likely to be chaotic as those running for mayor repaint their signs for other races, such as the case with Hirono who will no longer run for mayor, but is now in the race again for governor.

As one political strategist puts it, it will be like following the bouncing ball as deals are cut and signs covered over and repainted.

But as much as Harris would like to put his campaign and legal troubles behind him, the community has to keep holding him accountable, whether as mayor or in whatever role he takes on next.

The author of this piece is correct. Harris' pollster has had the distinction of never losing over there. It would be great to see Lingle become governor, as I believe the last election was taken from her by fraud.

I started another thread on this last night Here. Not a whole lot of additional comment, however.

FWIW, the Honolulu Advertiser Here has a Forum section for discussion with some really interesting comments regarding what might have derailed Harris's candidacy (with some racial overtones regarding his Haoleness and whether or not any of the Democrats other than Hirono would have had a prayer against the AJA contingent and the plantation mentality).

I was in her campaign headquarters office the day of the election telling the Repuplican party president she was going to lose by a few votes and in four years she will get elected. He said..."I don't want to hear it---get out of here" and last year we talked over what happened because the count went to early in the morning. There is a very popular artist---think BIG WHALES...who had a very controversial painting without a permit he took down who told me he takes personal responsibilty for her defeat.

When I arrived here in 92 her popularity was already very high and increasing steadily and I thought she would be the Ronald Reagon of the millenium. Lingle running against Hillary would be my dream ticket in 2008!

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