HILO — Hawaii County mayor is proving a popular job description, with a baker’s dozen would-be candidates pulling nomination papers for the office more than two months before the filing deadline.
Six of the 13 who have pulled papers have officially filed, signaling they’re serious about the upcoming race. Those six are former Mayor Harry Kim, former Kohala Councilman Pete Hoffmann, former county Managing Director Wally Lau, Paul Bryant, Timothy Waugh and Eric Weinert, according to a campaign report published late Friday by the state Office of Elections.
Filing deadline is June 7.
Others who have pulled nomination papers but not yet formally filed are Richard Abbett, Alvin Akina Jr., Gregory Arianoff, Jefferson Gourley, Wendell Kaehuaea, Helan Olena Luta and Shannon McCandless.
There’s a heightened interest in the nonpartisan seat this year, with Mayor Billy Kenoi term-limited and unable to run again after eight years in office. As Kenoi finishes his term in the shadow of an attorney general investigation into his use of his county purchasing card, or pCard, several candidates are making ethics a major plank in their campaign platform.
“Every Big Islander is responsible for the current situation our county finds itself in,” said Bryant. “We absolutely need a leader who will be fully accountable and have ethics all can both trust and rely upon.”
Bryant, 70, of Papaaloa, said he decided to run for mayor almost four years ago, “when the current administration was returned to office.”
Kim, 76, was mayor from 2000 to 2008, and worked in county Civil Defense for 24 years before that. He lost to Kenoi in 2012 by a 1,438-vote margin — earning 49 percent of the vote compared to Kenoi’s 51 percent.
“This is something we have to do because it’s right,” Kim said. “The way people feel about the government is not good for any of us. … Trust is something you work for every single day, like any relationship, you work every day to earn the public’s trust.”
Lau, who was Kenoi’s former top deputy, quit his job in January to run his campaign. He stressed he’s running a campaign based on balance and will campaign with honesty and humility. He said he’s not worried about public perception that his administration may be a continuation of Kenoi’s.
“How people think of it is how people think of it,” Lau said. “How people want to compare it with the current administration or any other administration, that’s up to them. I’m just focusing on my own canoe, my own campaign and what I’m planning to do.”
Hoffmann, 74, was the first candidate to announce. Since September, he’s been raising money, running ads and meeting with community members.
“I believe the integrity that I’ve demonstrated throughout my tenure on the County Council, the hard work that I’ve brought to all of my community activities and the effective leadership that has marked my career in the U.S. Army and beyond are characteristics most needed in county government today,” he said.
Weinert’s campaign is a little different. A part of the natural farming movement, Weinert is pushing for a more ecologically friendly island.
“As an educator, I imagine our keiki growing up in a Hawaii that is livable and work toward that goal every day,” he said. “When we agree on the basics of clean air, fresh water and good food we have a common ground to make sound decisions together on the things that really matter.”
Waugh could not be reached for comment by press time Monday.