Hawaii Supreme Court hears high-stakes appeal over Tommy Waters’ council eligibility

News admin August 26, 2026 0 Comments

Hawaii Supreme Court hears high-stakes appeal over Tommy Waters’ council eligibility

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday at Aliʻiōlani Hale over the controversial East Honolulu City Council race, which was thrown into chaos after Council Chair Tommy Waters was declared ineligible to run for another term.

Primary confusion and legal appeal

The dispute stems from the county’s strict two-term limit. Waters has served in office for nearly eight years, but he argued he was eligible to run again because he started his first term late following an election challenge, meaning he had not served two full four-year terms.

Although the county clerk initially approved Waters’ candidacy, a Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of his opponent, Trevor Ozawa, declaring Waters ineligible. Because mail-in ballots had already been sent out, Waters was disqualified but his name remained on the ballot.

Attorneys debate term definitions, voter rights

In the primary election, Ozawa received the most votes, followed by Waters in second, with candidates Tara Gregory and Joseph Liang trailing.

Now, Waters and a group of 40 District 4 voters are petitioning the state’s highest court to restore his eligibility in time for the general election.

During the hour-long hearing, Deirdre Marie-Iha, the attorney representing Ozawa, argued that the official start dates of council terms are fixed by law.

“Standing here today, I can tell you the exact start dates of every City Council election for the next 100 years if they don’t change the law. Those terms do not move,” Marie-Iha said. “What they’re talking about is Mr. Waters’ tenure in office, how long he’s served, not how long the term is.”

Thomas Otake, the attorney representing the 40 community members supporting Waters, argued that disqualifying Waters disenfranchised thousands of local voters.

“How can anybody think that’s okay?” Otake asked, “That this process, that 8,654 people, votes didn’t count. How can anybody in this building think that’s okay?”

Ruling expected by Friday

The justices must now decide whether Waters is legally eligible to run. If he is declared eligible, the court will then have to determine which candidates will appear on the general election ballot — either all four primary candidates or just Ozawa and Waters.

During the arguments, Acting Chief Justice Sabrina McKenna questioned the attorneys regarding the legal standard of allowing a candidate to remain on the ballot in disputed cases.

“There’s a lot of courts saying that — that if there’s a question, let the person be on the ballot and let the voters decide. Why shouldn’t we follow that principle?” she said.

Marie-Iha responded, “The court has expedited this appeal and can answer the question of who’s on the ballot before the general election.”

McKenna announced at the close of the hearing that the court will issue its ruling by Friday, which is the legal deadline for deciding election challenges.

An attorney for the state Elections Office said they need to know who will be on the ballot by Sept. 4 to ensure ballots are printed in time to meet deadlines to mail ballots to international and overseas military voters.