Vicky Cayetano — a business executive, entrepreneur and former first lady of Hawaii — officially launched her campaign for governor Monday as a Democrat.
Vicky Cayetano — a business executive, entrepreneur and former first lady of Hawaii — officially launched her campaign for governor Monday as a Democrat.
Should she advance from the Democratic Primary in August 2022 and then win in the November general election, Cayetano would be only Hawaii’s second female governor and the country’s first Asian American female governor, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Sunday.
Cayetano, 65, who has never run for elected office, not even as a schoolgirl, has a unique political perspective as a former resident of Washington Place, the official governor’s residence, and more recently as co-chair of the successful 2020 campaign of Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, another business executive and first-time politician.
As the head of Hawaii’s largest commercial laundry, with hotel and hospital clients across the state, Cayetano also has access to a network of politicians, including Blangiardi, and business and community leaders. The chairwoman of her campaign, Loretta Sheehan, is the former chairwoman of the Honolulu Police Commission.
Her campaign is simply dubbed “Vicky for Governor,” emphasizing to voters she’s the only female candidate of the major contenders who so far include Lt. Gov. Josh Green and former mayor Kirk Caldwell. It also tells voters she’s not running on the name of her husband, former Gov. Ben Cayetano, now 81, who served two terms from 1994 to 2002.
The couple married in 1997 at Washington Place; both were previously married and divorced.
Cayetano said the former governor provided no advice in her decision to run for office.
