Kai Kahele’s candidacy for governor of Hawaii underscores state funding

Public funding of political campaigns in Hawaii has become an issue again this year when US Rep. Kai Kahele announced he is now eligible for federal campaign funds for his term as governor by raising US$100,000 through individual donations of US$100 -dollars or less.

Announcing his candidacy on May 7, Kahele vowed that he would not accept donations over $100 from corporations, unions and political action committees, as he has done in the past.

Kahele had few opportunities to fund his late-night gubernatorial run because he is barred from using funds from his congressional campaign for a state race.

But Kahele’s announcement this week that he has raised the state minimum of $100,000 to be eligible for federal campaign funds means the pace is “the fastest a gubernatorial candidate has seen since public funding began in the 1980s.” The $ 100,000 threshold has reached, ”says a statement from his campaign.

It also indicates grassroots support, as he will have generated at least 1,000 relatively small donations, said Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center.

“I think that’s a good sign for his campaign,” said Moore.

If Kahele’s donations are verified, he would qualify for up to $207,000 in public campaign funding from the state’s general fund for the Aug. 13 Democratic primary, said Kristin E. Izumi-Nitao, executive director of the state Campaign Expenditures Commission.

If he wins the primary, Kahele could theoretically qualify for an additional $207,000 in federal campaign funds for the November 8 general election through a second round of donations of $100 or less.

In comparison, the gubernatorial campaign of Lt. gov. Josh Green for raising more than $2.5 million from approximately 2,500 donors before the June 30 deadline for campaign finance disclosures.

It’s not uncommon to win high office simply by using so-called “partial public funding,” as Governor David Ige did in his successful fight against the then-government in 2014. Neil Abercrombie, but not in Ige’s re-election bid.

In 2020, 16 candidates relied on public campaign funds and three won, although the Campaign Spending Commission could not immediately determine which.

Candidates applying for public funds can also accept maximum donations over $100, but the larger contributions do not count toward meeting minimum amounts to qualify for public funds.

The Hawaii Election Campaign Fund was created during the 1978 constitutional convention and established by the state legislature in 1979.

The source is primarily from the state general fund, and the amount is determined by how many income taxpayers indicate on their returns that they would like $3 to go to the fund. The disclosure does not affect the amount owed by individual taxpayers or the amount of any refunds.

The rules are complicated and vary by race, even differing between individual City Council and House and Senate district races based on the number of votes cast in the previous election cycle.

The amount of public campaign funds distributed also varies widely, often increasing in election cycles where a gubernatorial candidate can tap into them, Izumi-Nitao said, such as the total of $234,864 spent during Ige’s first gubernatorial campaign.

In 1980, the first year of public campaign funding, the state handed out just $1,000. The amount rose to an all-time high of $427,721 in the 1982 election cycle and then ebbed and flowed in the years thereafter.

In the 2020 election year, candidates made $85,361, the fourth-lowest amount ever.

Adjusted for inflation, Moore calculated that the state funded $1.3 million in campaign funding in 1982 and just $96,000 in 2020.

“Adjusted for inflation, that’s 13 times more,” Moore said.

Normally, each election cycle produces over 300 candidates with about 100 newcomers, Izumi-Nitao said.

Moore believes that low public campaign funding in 2020 could be the result of a lack of awareness of new candidates and the complexity of the rules.

Candidates accepting public campaign funds face spending caps that also vary by race: $2,081,165 for each of the gubernatorial primary and general election; $1,165,452 for lieutenant governor election; and $1,099,870 for the Honolulu Mayor‘s race, compared to $94,206 for the Kauai Mayor’s race.

The amount of the permissible campaign expenditure also differs between similar breeds. For example, allowable campaign spending levels range from $59,111 in Honolulu Council District 7 (Lwilei through Foster Village) to $102,694 in District 4 (East Honolulu through Waikiki); And also between every race of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Violations may result in a $1,000 fine and return of all public campaign funds.

For new candidates, said Izumi-Nitao, “it is a steep learning curve”.

Common Cause Hawaii has been pushing for campaign spending reforms in the state Legislature, including more transparency about who is donating to PACs and Super PACs.

Increasing the amount of public funding candidates can receive would reduce their reliance on so-called black money, said Sandy Ma, executive director of Common Cause Hawaii.

Public campaign funding tends to help political challengers, she said, and reforms continue to die in the legislature.

“It is difficult to go out and collect donations,” said Ma.

With more accessible public campaign funds, “more people can run for office and more responsive people can run for office,” Ma said. “This is a way to get big money, dark money, out of politics and … make people who get elected more receptive to the voters. It is important to improve our voting system.”

TO LEARN MORE

You can find a guideline for public campaign financing bit.ly/3ObPiDi