East Honolulu council race in flux after judge bars Waters from ballot

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — Voters and candidates in East Honolulu’s City Council District 4 race are facing confusion after a judge ruled Monday that Council Chair Tommy Waters is ineligible to run for a third term — with mail-in balloting already underway.

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The city Corporation Counsel said in a statement Tuesday that “the City Clerk is awaiting Judge Ashford’s written Order and Judgment and does not intend to appeal his ruling.”

What happens next for East Honolulu voters remains unclear.

Ballots already in circulation

Ballots from drop boxes and USPS were observed Tuesday arriving at a secure city elections transfer site near Honolulu’s airport for signature verification and pre-processing before being sent to the state capitol for scanning.

The ruling came after former council member Trevor Ozawa filed a lawsuit challenging Waters’ eligibility. Waters said Monday he planned to appeal.

Candidates, watchdogs react

Two other candidates for the District 4 seat said they have been flooded with questions since the ruling.

Candidate Tara Malia Gregory called the situation an upheaval. “I think it’s an upheaval because this is a little bit of an orchestrated delay in justice,” Gregory said. “This should have been nipped in the bud last year when Chair Waters even announced it.”

Candidate Jason Liang said the ruling has generated widespread confusion. “A lot of buzz going around and yeah, I’d say a lot of confusion,” Liang said.

On the question of next steps, Liang said, “I think what’s fairest for the voters is a special election, but in terms of what the law calls for, I’m not an expert.”

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Camron Hurt of Common Cause Hawaii raised concerns about voter confidence.

“We are seemingly two weeks away from the primary election and voters don’t have answers as to who’s going to be on the ballot, how they are going to do it or if they are going to do anything different,” Hurt said. “How is anybody supposed to trust an election process like that?”

Mayor, elections administrator respond

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he was surprised by the ruling. “Corporation counsel, the very people that represent me, represented Chair Waters, and they told me they felt like they did a great job and that they made the argument very strong,” Blangiardi said. “Honestly, I was very surprised.”

Blangiardi also addressed his relationship with Waters: “Tommy Waters and I have had a pretty good relationship for five and a half years. The last couple months have been pretty rough. I don’t wanna talk about anyone when I’m still angry.”

Honolulu Elections Administrator Rex Quidilla said his office is “examining the implications of the ruling.”

Quidilla noted he has not encountered a situation like this before in his roughly 25 years in the role. He referenced the 2002 death of Congresswoman Patsy Mink, who died after winning the primary election. Her name remained on the ballot and she won the general election posthumously, leading to a special election won by Ed Case.

State Chief Elections Officer Scott Nago said his office does not comment on ongoing litigation.

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