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Mayor Kirk Caldwell has received large chunks of cash from his own employees at Honolulu Hale as well as from those involved in major construction and development projects around town, a Civil Beat analysis of data shows.

Caldwell raised almost $2.4 million between Nov. 7, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2015. Only a small percentage — about $16,000 — comes from individuals giving him $100 or less.

Many of the companies that gave tens of thousands of dollars to Caldwell’s campaign have received lucrative contracts to help build the city’s $6.6 billion rail project, which is slated to carry commuters from East Kapolei to downtown Honolulu at Ala Moana Center.

With less than six months to go before the Aug. 13 primary, Caldwell reports having $1.6 million in cash on hand.

Despite talk that he will face a well-known challenger — possibly Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernie Martin or former Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona — only one candidate has thus far pulled papers to run against him. The Anaheim, Calif., phone number listed by that candidate, Timothy Garry, was out of service when Civil Beat tried it Tuesday.

By contrast, six candidates to run for the Hawaii County mayoral seat, which will be vacant when Billy Kenoi’s term ends this year. Two of them, Wally Lau (a former county managing director) and Peter Hoffmann (a former Hawaii County Council member), have already officially filed.

Caldwell received $255,000 from donors that did not identify their employer or occupation in the campaign spending data. 

He received another $222,000 from other entities, including businesses and political action committees. This group includes businesses like ($2,500) and political action committees that gave between $2,000 and up to the $4,000 limit: Hawaii Laborers, , Ironworkers For Better Government and Hawaii Carpenters.

Another large group of donors described themselves as “self-employed,” contributing more than $112,000 to Caldwell. It included donors like Robert Iwamoto Jr., the owner of the tourism transport company Roberts Hawaii, who gave the mayor $4,000.

The third-largest group of donors is represented by Honolulu City and County employees, and they gave a total of $84,300 to their boss.

There are nearly 40 donors listed identifying themselves as Caldwell employees over the past three and a half years. They include many top aides such as Managing Director Roy Amemiya, Deputy Managing Director Georgette Deemer, Chief of Staff Ray Soon and Transportation Director Mike Formby.

It’s not unheard of for government workers to donate to the elected official who employ them. They have obvious vested interests.

Money Follows Power

The mayor has also received abundant donations from major businesses involved with projects such as the Honolulu rail line. They include ,�� and .

It is not unusual for major construction firms and developers to give money to politicians. But Kobayashi Sugita & Goda has a large number of employees giving to Caldwell, including former Hawaii Attorney General David Louie and Lex Smith, a former campaign chair for Caldwell.

Other donors involved with Oahu transportation but not working for the mayor were Dan Grabauskas ($3,500) and Brennon Morioka ($3,000) of the , and Roger Mortin ($3,000) and Robert Yu ($3,000) of Oahu Transit Services, which manages .

Other donors worth mentioning are several officials with who gave a total of $10,000. Caldwell is on the board of directors for Territorial, where his annual income ranges between $200,000 and $290,000. When running for mayor in 2012, he reported receiving more than $21,000 in donations from Territorial employees.

To illustrate how keen the mayor appears to be to serve another term, he spent $114,000 from July through December on his campaign. Most of it went to for surveys, polls and voter lists, and to for services and consulting.

Caldwell also reported spending more $20,000 during the same time period for food and beverages at The Plaza Club, Honolulu County Club and Sky Waikiki, and the Fairmont Washington, D.C.

Those are the locations of some of Caldwell’s many fundraisers — 31 since April 2013. The most recent was just last week, at 3660 On the Rise on Waialae Avenue. The was $2,000.