SUNDAY, AUGUST 12, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM $1.50
IT’S IGE, GREEN
KAILUA-KONA — As midnight
this morning approached,
it appeared Big Island Sen. Josh
Green had eked out victory in the
Democratic primary for lieutenant
governor of the state of Hawaii.
Green led fellow state Sen.
Jill Tokuda by roughly 3 points,
which translated into a little more
than 6,500 votes, with 246 of 249
precincts reporting. Tokuda had
already conceded to Green after
the third printout of votes had been
announced earlier in the evening.
Cautiously optimistic, Green
spoke to West Hawaii Today as
he drove to recently reelected Gov.
David Ige’s campaign headquarters
to appear with his former Senate
counterpart on television to celebrate
their new partnership.
Green, who represented portions
of Kona and Ka‘u in the state
Senate since 2008, credited his
former West Hawaii constituency
with carrying him over the finish
line to a narrow victory.
“Really, it’s an honor that after
all these years in the ER and in the
clinics and all those the families
I’ve met, they’ve honored me with
their vote. It appears they’ve sent
me to the lieutenant governorship,”
he said. “The many years I’ve spent
both sharing tears and extraordinary
moments with our people on
the Big Island meant they supported
me unlike any other candidate
before, and that appears to be what
put us over the top.”
The Democratic primary for lieutenant
governor garnered considerable
attention throughout the election
cycle, as more money was pumped
into the race than ever before.
Much of that extra dough came
to Green, particularly in the form of
a more than $1 million campaign
donation from Be Change Now, a
super PAC connected to the Hawaii
Regional Council of Carpenters.
Now likely on his way to the
general election and a favorite to
win the lieutenant governorship,
Green said Hawaii’s citizens need
not be concerned as to where his
loyalties lie.
“My loyalties are absolutely to
the people of Hawaii, especially to
the people suffering in poverty or
who are homeless,” he said. “That’s
where my heart’s always been.”
Green was endorsed by not only
the carpenters, but also the teachers,
doctors and nurses. He said
his life’s work as a physician and a
politician, as well as his positions
on vital issues and his dedication to
fighting Hawaii’s homelessness and
opioid crises moving forward are
what garnered the support needed
for a slim victory.
He also noted
community walking
and extensive
door knocking to
the tune of 20,000
front doors as
making a significant
impact.
“In the end, I
think that’s what
made the difference,”
Green said. “I hope to earn
everyone’s trust moving forward
because I’m going to work hard for
our people.”
While Green now serves the
entire state, he said he will work
hard to be an advocate for the Big
Island, and West Hawaii specifically,
from Oahu.
He noted the recovery effort
after the Kilauea volcano eruption
in Puna, the extreme health care
shortage on Hawaii Island, the constant
challenges posed by rampant
homelessness and the scourges of
untreated drug addiction and mental
illness to the list of issues he’ll
prioritize if he becomes lieutenant
governor.
“Now we will have a champion in
the executive branch, if we prevail
in the fall, to make sure the Big
Island really sees more services,”
Green said.
As to whether he’ll continue to
work as a physician, Green said
he’s yet undecided how much time
he might devote to humanitarian
medical outreach programs like
those needed in Puna, for instance.
But he said he won’t forget the task
the state has bestowed upon him
should he win the general election
come November.
“My priority will always by the
lieutenant governorship,” Green said.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige greets supporters at his campaign headquarters, Saturday in
Honolulu. AP PHOTO/MARCO GARCIA
HONOLULU — Hawaii Gov. David Ige
won the Democratic primary in his bid for
a second term in office Saturday, defeating
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who gave up
her seat in Congress to run for governor.
Ige had a challenging first term amid a
series of natural and man-made disasters,
including a false missile alert that sent the
state into a panic in January, a major embarrassment
for his administration.
But the governor’s handling of Kilauea volcano’s
latest eruption, which destroyed more
than 700 homes and displaced thousands,
as well as devastating flooding on Kauai got
him back on track and he came out ahead of
Hanabusa.
Ige campaigned on his efforts on providing
more affordable housing and addressing the
state’s homelessness problem. Hawaii has
had the highest rate of homeless per capita
in the nation for many years and is one of the
most expensive places to live in the country.
Ige will face Hawaii state Rep. Andria
Tupola, who won the Republican primary for
governor, in November. Ige will likely get the
job the general election. Hawaii has had only
two Republican governors since it became a
state and the vast majority of islands’ residents
consistently vote blue.
In another top race, former Congressman
Ed Case has emerged from a crowded field to
win the Democratic Party primary Saturday
to represent Honolulu in Congress.
The 65-year-old fiscal conservative on
Saturday defeated five other major candidates
including Lt. Gov. Doug Chin, who is
the architect of Hawaii’s legal battle against
President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
“I think voters want Washington to work
again, that’s the number one issue. Clearly
that was my message and I think that
accounts for much of the result of my race,”
said Case. “I was clearly saying we need to
fix Washington and we need to work together
and that message clearly resonated with
many voters.”
He’ll face Cam Cavasso, a former state
representative who previously ran unsuccessfully
for U.S. Senate. Cavasso won the
GOP primary Saturday. The winner of the
Democratic primary is almost guaranteed to
win in the general election in Hawaii.
Tupola is the House minority leader and
one of only five Republicans on the 51-member
body. She defeated former state Sen.
John Carrol and former Pearl Harbor nonprofit
CEO Ray L’Heureux for the nomination
in the GOP primary for governor.
Tupola said one of her primary focuses
as governor would be to address affordable
housing and to fight for Native Hawaiians to
get the opportunity to use land set aside for
them decades ago.
STORIES INSIDE, 6A
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VOL. 50, NO. 224 30 PAGES
INSIDE
‘REPRESENTING KONA AND KA’U TO THE STATE’
Dru Kanuha takes 3rd Senate District race over Brenda Ford
PAGE 6A
▼
Poindexter Chung Lee Loy Kierkiewicz Kanealii-
Kleinfelder
David Villegas
Drysdale Eoff Richards
UNOPPOSED
RESULTS AS OF 12:15 A.M.
INCUMBENT HOLDS ON IN GOVERNOR PRIMARY
BY CALEB JONES
AND AUDREY MCAVOY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEE IGE PAGE 6A
WEST HAWAII DOCTOR EKES OUT WIN
OVER STATE SEN. JILL TOKUDA
BY MAX DIBLE
WEST HAWAII TODAY
mdible@westhawaiitoday.com
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