Even Without Challenger, Carlisle Rakes In Cash
UPDATED 7/25/11 8:03 a.m.
Last November, Honolulu voters gave Mayor Peter Carlisle a test drive — the last two years of Mufi Hannemann‘s term. Now Carlisle is saving up cash so he can win a four-year term.
Carlisle pulled in more than $280,000 in campaign contributions in the first six months of this year, according to a document filed with the Hawaii State Campaign Spending Commission last week. That’s without an announced challenger — and the total might discourage contenders from taking him on.
The total — $282,728 — is more than Ed Case has collected in his run for the U.S. Senate so far this year. Without another 2012 mayoral candidate to compare it against, history can be instructive.
In the year between when then-Prosecuting Attorney Carlisle ramped up his campaign for mayor in the fall of 2009 and the special election he won last September, he pulled in about $580,000, according to covering that race. The new fundraising numbers mean he’s kept up the pace from last year even though we’re still 16 months away from the 2012 election.
But Carlisle’s fundraising prowess is modest when compared against other mayors. In the equivalent reporting period for his 2008 reelection campaign, from January through June, 2007 — about $200,000 more than Carlisle’s recent collections. And Carlisle was dramatically outraised by his main opponent last year, as Acting Mayor Kirk Caldwell collected .
The Big Donors
Fourteen different already contributed the maximum $4,000 to Carlisle’s re-election effort:
- Ironworkers for Better Government
- Alexander and Baldwin
- Hawaii Carpenters Political Action Fund
- CEO Mark W. Robison
- Hawaii Management Alliance Association
- Bank of Hawaii
- Real Estate Developer Stanford S. Carr
- Kathy S.P. Carr
- Royal Contracting Co. Vice President Leonard K.P. Leong
- Outrigger Enterprises
- Auntie’s, Inc.
- Laurence K.W. Tseu
- Pacific Christian Church General Manager Donald F. Laidlaw
Some of those are repeat supporters.
The Hawaii Carpenters gave $3,800 to Carlisle a month before his September victory. Robison and a woman at the same address together gave $4,000 to Carlisle last time around. Hawaii Management Alliance Association kicked in $2,000 just days before the election. Tseu gave $1,000, and Alexander and Baldwin gave $500.
Some seem to have been on the fence during the last election.
Outrigger Enterprises gave $4,000 to Carlisle the day before the election, and $1,000 to Caldwell the day before that. Leong gave $1,000 to Carlisle, but $4,000 to Caldwell. Stanford Carr gave $4,000 to Carlisle a week before the election — though the Carrs together spent $4,428 on food and beverages for a Caldwell campaign event at 3660 On The Rise a couple months earlier. Bank of Hawaii gave $3,000 to Carlisle, but $4,000 to Caldwell — and many executives chipped in more to Caldwell. Ironworkers for Better Government contributed $500 to Carlisle in November 2009 — but it also gave $1,000 to Caldwell a month prior to that.
Caldwell hasn’t announced any intentions for 2012, though mayor and U.S. House would be potential targets. He’ll have a sizable hole to dig himself out of — as of in January, Caldwell’s campaign committee was carrying $177,880 in debt. Two-time also-ran Panos Prevedouros had $5,299 on hand as of , also in January.
By comparison, Carlisle had $259,314 on hand as of June 30, according to , after spending $116,986 during the first six months of the year.
The largest expenditure was $71,793 for food and beverage for a fundraiser at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on April 19. Related costs apparently included $3,999 for invitations and postage, $3,665 for lighting, $3,443 for programs, $2,618 for sound equipment, $2,094 for staging and $2,000 for an orchestra conductor.
The expenditures appear to have paid off, with dozens of campaign contributions received in the days immediately before and after the event.
Other Honolulu Politicians
The deadline for state and county candidates to file their reports is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 1, but Carlisle’s not the only politician to file early.
Honolulu City Council member Breene Harimoto — whose first term doesn’t end until 2014 — did not raise any money during the first six months of 2011, according to . Ann Kobayashi raised only $100, according to .1
Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro raised $49,718 between January and June, according to . Much of that appears to have come from a mid-March fundraiser. Many of were received on March 16, 17 and 18. His includes more than $3,000 for “Food for Fund Raiser” on March 16.
Notice for fundraisers is supposed to be given in advance, according to . No fundraiser notice is available for Kaneshiro on the Campaign Spending Commission’s website for either the or elections.
Other city officials have held fundraisers in recent months, so their campaign finance filings will presumably show some collections. Council member Ikaika Anderson, up for re-election for District 3 in 2012, held a fundraiser and Carlisle held fundraisers on and the aforementioned big one featuring the orchestra on .
Council Chair Ernie Martin got an early start on his 2014 re-election run, holding fundraisers on , and .
