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COURTESY PHOTOS AND STAR-ADVERTISER
Incumbent OHA At-Large Trustee Brickwood M. Galuteria, former Honolulu City Council member Ikaika Anderson and incumbent OHA At-Large Trustee John D. Waiheʻe IV are among the six primary winners moving on to the general election in November.
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STAR-ADVERTISER
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
When it came down to it, name recognition seemed to matter.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ at-large trustee candidates with the most votes in today’s primary election were mostly current incumbents with widespread name recognition.
The latest primary election results released after 9 p.m. Saturday showed no candidate receiving a majority, or more than 50%, of votes. Thus, the original 15 at-large trustees will be narrowed down to six winners moving ahead to the November general election.
With strong name recognition, incumbent Brickwood Galuteria, a former state Senator and radio personality, managed to pull ahead in the primary with 16% of votes.
Longtime incumbent John Waihe‘e IV, son of the former Hawaii governor, also pulled ahead, with about 15% of votes, followed by former Honolulu City Councilmember Ikaika Anderson, with 12% of votes.
Current incumbent and award-winning musician Keoni Souza, along with two newcomers — educator Adrian Keali‘i Akina, and fisherman Kanekoa “Koa” Crabbe — also appeared to make the cut.
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Akina, a Puna resident, is an information technology resource teacher who said his top priority is protecting Native Hawaiian rights while advancing housing, health care and food sovereignty.
Crabbe, a Honolulu resident, described himself as a self-employed fisherman and boat builder, and said OHA should advocate for environmental restoration, cultural preservation, and Native Hawaiian interests in future negotiations involving military leases.
This year, a total of five OHA trustee seats are on the ballot — the Oahu seat, the Maui seat, and three at-large seats.
The candidates for the Maui and Oahu trustee races go straight to the general election in November because only two candidates have filed for each seat.
The race for at-large seats on the OHA Board of Trustees, meanwhile, was a crowded one, with 15 candidates vying for three seats in today’s primary elections.
Hawaii voters made their picks at a pivotal time for OHA, which is weighing in on the agency’s role in military lease negotiations, its plans for 30 acres in Kakaako Makai, and a potential bid to purchase KITV.
The election is also taking place amid turmoil and division, as OHA faces litigation from its former CEO, Stacy Ferreira, after she was placed on indefinite leave.
In November, voters will choose the final three at-large trustees out of six candidates, as well as the Maui and Oahu trustees.
On Oahu, the current incumbent, Kalei Akaka, the granddaughter of the late Sen. Daniel Akaka, is being challenged by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a cultural practitioner known to most as Kumu Hina.
On Maui, incumbent Carmen Hulu Lindsey, an award-winning recording artist who has been the Maui trustee since 2012, faces opponent Jonah Ke’eaumoku Kapu, a cultural practitioner and leader who organized recovery efforts after the Lahaina fire.
For more coverage, visit https://www.staradvertiser.com/election.