As this blogger continues to analyze the results of the Primary Election in Hawaii, there has been one race result that could use a little more treatment. That being the Honolulu Mayoral race, where incumbent Mayor Rick Blangiardi sailed into a win, taking the vote outright in the primary and punching his timecard for another four-year term.
Considering that, before this race, the primary would only triage the various candidates on the ballot to 2. Then those two would battle it out in general, the fact that this was a one-and-done vote for Honolulu mayor is interesting.
PC: “2022-1026-smithsonian-apac-rick-blangiardi (cropped)” by Fuzheado is marked with CC0 1.0.
But, to this blogger who watches the political maneuverings of elections probably way too closely, the question remained of why he didn’t face any real opposition, and even when he did, he trounced it in the Primary.
While the general media covering the race listed out Blangiardi’s campaign’s reasons for the win – doing more programs for the homeless, making progress on the now-named Skyline metro system, and addressing affordable housing – one thing that was not covered was the reasons why these things gave him the strength to diffuse any real opposition.
And in looking around, there has been no “one reason” why Blangiardi didn’t face the same fate as his predecessor – Caldwell – where he faced strong enough opposition (Cayetano, then Djou) that he had to work to defeat the General.
One reason, from this blogger’s perspective, is the reality that Blangiardi already had a sizeable campaign warchest of money going into this cycle. According to campaign spending commission records, for the election period, he took in an eye-popping $2.3 million and spent $1.9 million.
Most likely anyone ramping up to oppose him determined early on that they would need to match and better him in the money race. And unlike some other markets, there was just not enough money circulating to field any true opposition to him.
But money is not everything. Even if you have a war chest of money, but people don’t like you, you can spend all the money you want and still lose. We have seen that result happen this last election cycle, with Clayton Hee being beaten by Ben Shaefer in the North Shore Senate race, with Hee drastically outspending Shaefer, but still losing.
So it must be something else.
Again, with paltry coverage as to the story behind this race, this blogger had to relegate to reading, of all things, Reddit threads on how people felt about Blangiardi. Two threads, one from 2 years ago and one from about one year ago, gave a little more insight as to what people on Oahu felt about their Mayor.
Boiled down, the feeling was that he wasn’t doing anything extraordinary, but nothing to say that he needed to be replaced. That in itself could have stopped several potential opponents from challenging him, knowing full well that there was not a lot of “stuff” to hit Blangiardi with to sway the voter to another choice.
Another reason could be the way that Blangiardi has approached the job of Mayor. Unlike
PC: Hawaii State Office of Elections
others who would be more hands-off about critical issues in districts, Blangiardi is a more-seen Mayor in those areas. The most recent issues in the Waianae area, in which he attended a Neighborhood Watch Walk, elicited comments from those interviewed who said that he was present on the issues. Blangiardi has also been that way with other problematic areas of Oahu, including Chinatown.
Let us just say that to be effective in opposing the Mayor, one would have needed to out-present and out-walk him in those events. Kinda hard when he set the bar and kept on pushing it up during the campaign.
A third reason could be the type of noise that Mayor Blangiardi’s office makes, and how the public responds to it. One thing this blogger sensed is that Blangiardi was able to get a read on how to tone messages that would get a positive reaction from people, and then executed on it. Some would say that is pure manipulation. However, being able to “read a room” and craft messages that get people’s attention and support is the bread and butter of successful politicians.
There are other factors to consider, including the absence of scandals and negative soundbite episodes that irritate the electorate. However, the electorate is still reminded of the scandals from the previous administration through periodic reports on the status of the Kealohas in federal prison. The lack of any new ones can be considered a factor in Blangiardi earning goodwill with the electorate this election cycle.
In the end, Blangiardi’s substantial campaign funds and lack of serious opposition likely contributed to his reelection. Despite not being seen as exceptional, voters felt he was doing enough. This suggests that a combination of adequate performance and a lack of compelling alternatives were key factors in his victory.
Politics Hawaii with Stan Fichtman is an award-winning publication from the Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for 2023.