Five of the seats on the nine-member Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees are up for grabs, with 19 people vying to represent O‘ahu, Maui and statewide.
The election comes as OHA considers its options in several areas, including a potential bid to buy the television news station KITV, how best to develop Kakaʻako Makai, and ways to gain a larger role in military lease negotiations.
The race for three at-large seats on the OHA Board is the most crowded field, with 15 people wanting to represent these seats. The August primary election will narrow the field to the top six vote getters. The November general election will determine the three winners.
The incumbents Camen Hulu Lindsey and Kalei Akaka on the Maui and Oʻahu seats each have a challenger, which will automatically go to the November general election.
If the challengers are successful at unseating the incumbents, they will join the nine-member panel to decide how to manage OHA’s trust worth about $600 million.
OHA was created in 1978 as a semi-autonomous state agency, which is tasked with managing revenue from lands once held by the Hawaiian Kingdom to help improve the conditions Native Hawaiians.
Anyone, including non-Native Hawaiians, can vote for OHA after a 2000 court ruling, Rice v. Cayetano, determining that it was illegal to limit OHA elections by ethnicity.
But OHA races typically include blank ballots, according to Jacob Aki of the Oʻahu Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs.
“Oftentimes, if people don’t know anybody on the ballot, they'll often leave it blank,” he said.
Aki said these races are about name recognition and who can raise the most funds to get their name out to voters.
“What we've seen in successful challengers who have either unseated current incumbents or who have been competitive in these races, it's been who can get their name out there,” he said. “TV, radio, all of which are probably the most expensive ways to get your name out there.”
Three-at-Large Seats
Three at-large seats are currently held by John Waiheʻe IV, who is the son of former Gov. John Waiheʻe III; Brickwood Galuteria, a former state senator; and Keoni Souza, a real estate agent and musician.
Aki said this race is one of the most competitive because some challengers also have name recognition and are seasoned campaigners. Those include former Honolulu City Councilmember Ikaika Anderson and former OHA Board Trustee Brendon Kaleiʻaina Lee.
Other notable opponents are Kumu Hula Karl Veto Baker and Kalena Parish, also known as the Hawaiian musician Kalenakū DeLima.
Aki said Parish is one of the few females running in the at-large race.
“It will be interesting to see how she uses her name, her network and very strong social media following, too,” Aki said.
The Oʻahu Seat
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, also known as Kumu Hina, is vying for the Oʻahu seat, which has been held by Kalei Akaka since 2018. Akaka is the granddaughter of the late. Sen. Daniel Akaka.
Aki said Kumu Hina is one of her strongest challenges since her first race when she faced Esther Kiaʻāina, who now serves on the Honolulu City Council.
“What Kumu Hina brings is state and national recognition,” Aki said. “She’s a cultural icon. People know her as an LGBTQ activist. She is known for her number of documentaries and books.”
He added that she also has a large social media following.
The Maui Seat
Community leader and cultural practitioner Jonah Kapu will face off with incumbent Carmen Hulu Lindsey in the November general election. Lindsey has been serving as the Maui trustee since 2012 and is the former board chair.
Aki said it will be interesting to see if Kapu can overcome the name recognition that Lindsey already has.
Primary election ballot packets will be delivered in the mail by July 21.
