I Spent More Than My Opponent and Still Came Up Short
Hawaii candidates spent big on this year’s election. And while some big spenders scored a win, others lost their bids while dropping more cash than their winning opponent.
So maybe money can’t buy you love — er, votes.
Civil Beat dug through the financial reports of candidates in all races, including Maui mayor, Honolulu City Council, Legislature and Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Here are seven examples of a losing candidate doling out more cash than the winning candidate.
Maui Mayor
Charmaine Tavares lost her bid for re-election to the guy who held that job before her.
Tavares spent $368,815 on her campaign only to be ousted by Alan Arakawa, who was Maui’s mayor from 2002 to 2006.
Arakawa, who spent spent $228,651 on his campaign, won 57-40 percent over Tavares.
Tavares’ spending amounted to $21.77 per vote. Arakawa spent $9.45 for each of his 24,195 votes.
Honolulu City Councilmember, District 4
Rich Turbin lost his campaign for the seat occupied by former Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue, and before that, Charles Djou.
Turbin spent $363,518 on his campaign only to lose to Stanley Chang, who dropped $201,827 by comparison.
That means Turbin spent $21.63 per vote, while Chang spent $10.67 per vote. Chang won 48-43 percent.
Both candidates have a background in law: Chang’s a former real estate attorney and Turbin, long-time chair of the Waialae Kahala Neighborhood Board, was a Hawaii Legal Aid lawyer and a public defender.
Honolulu City Councilmember, District 2
John D. White ran unsuccessfully for the Honolulu City Council seat vacated by Donovan Dela Cruz, spending $212,660 along the way.
His opponent, Ernie Martin, spent less than half that, $82,232.
White was previously a legislative aide to the late Duke Bainum and chief of staff to Congresswoman Mazie Hirono.
He lost the race to Martin by just 48 votes, or 42.5-42.3 percent. White spent $19.32 per vote. Martin spent $7.44 per vote.
State Representative, District 28
Republican David S.Y. Chang spent $76,900 to run for the state House of Representatives.
Chang, an Army veteran and minister, unsuccessfully ran against Democratic incumbent Rep. Karl Rhoads to represent the district covering downtown Honolulu, Chinatown and Palama.
While Chang didn’t fare too badly, receiving 43 percent of votes, his spending amounted to $29.17 per vote. By comparison, Rhoads, who was first elected to the House in 2006, spent $62,750 on his campaign, or $19.59 per vote.
State Representative, District 43
Democrat Jason Bradshaw spent $32,089 on his campaign against Republican incumbent Rep. Kymberly Pine in the state House.
While Pine spent about $6,500 more on her campaign to continue representing Ewa Beach, a breakdown of the cost per vote shows Bradshaw spent $5 more than Pine for each of his votes.
Bradshaw, the political director Hawaii State AFL-CIO (a union of 72 affiliate unions in Hawaii), received 32 percent of votes. He spent $12.05 per vote while Pine spent $6.94 per vote.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Oahu Trustee
Spending per vote for OHA candidates is significantly lower than in other races, as in cents versus dollars.
Incumbent trustee Walter Heen spent $29,745 on his campaign for re-election.
The former judge and lawmaker lost to Peter Apo by more than 24,300 votes.
Heen spent 39 cents for each of his 76,750 votes, while Apo, who spent $19,673 total, spent 20 cents per vote.
