{"id":2621,"date":"2026-07-15T08:35:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T08:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2621"},"modified":"2026-07-15T08:35:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T08:35:52","slug":"hawaiis-largest-public-workers-union-campaigns-against-veteran-senator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2621","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii\u2019s largest public workers union campaigns against veteran senator"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii\u2019s largest public workers union has turned against Senate Education Committee Chair Donna Mercado Kim, endorsing a challenger and launching a social media campaign against the 43-year incumbent ahead of the Aug. 8 primary.<\/p>\n

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The Hawaii Government Employees Association and its director, Randy Perreira, sent a letter to thousands of members calling Kim \u201cTrumpian\u201d and accusing her of \u201clashing out in a personal vendetta and making a career out of bullying public workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

February hearing sparked the conflict<\/h2>\n

The dispute stems from a February Senate hearing in which Kim and Republican Sen. Samantha DeCorte questioned Deputy Schools Superintendent Heidi Armstrong over a bill to restructure school management.<\/p>\n

School officials, including principals, gathered outside the hearing room and audibly booed during the exchange.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cMaybe you\u2019re the problem because the buck kinda stops with you, right?\u201d DeCorte said during the hearing. As the voices were raised outside, Armstrong responded that \u201cmany things do stop with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim later addressed the disruption on the Senate floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we allow students to boo their classmates when they disagree or use intimidation and mob-like tactics to silence opposing views?\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n

Kim pushes back on union\u2019s characterization<\/h2>\n

Kim said she takes issue with the union\u2019s accusations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad that happens. I don\u2019t mind that people disagree with me. When they start accusing me of things that is not true and lies, well, that\u2019s where I draw the line,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n

She also said she has faced pressure from union leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of their job. Now, you know, I get bullied, and I get intimidated by others like union leaders as well,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n

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Kim said she believes her constituents support her approach.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI think the people in my district appreciate the fact that I\u2019m there fighting for them and asking the tough questions,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n

Challenger says she\u2019s running for the community<\/h2>\n

The HGEA has endorsed Christy MacPherson, a Democrat running in Senate District 14. MacPherson, a former substance abuse counselor and community organizer, works for Hawaii Appleseed, a nonprofit focused on solutions to poverty.<\/p>\n

She said she began campaigning before the dispute between Kim and the union.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I wanted to be in politics, but I think why I\u2019m running is because I\u2019ve been involved in this community for so long,\u201d MacPherson said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

MacPherson said her campaign is not defined by her opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about running against her. It\u2019s about running for the community,\u201d MacPherson said.<\/p>\n

She acknowledged differences with Kim without elaborating on the union conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have different styles and different styles of leadership,\u201d MacPherson said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The HGEA has conducted sign-waving and canvassing on MacPherson\u2019s behalf and has posted on social media that Kim \u201cis no friend to public workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

With no Republican in the race, the Aug. 8 primary will serve as the deciding election for Senate District 14, which covers the area from Kapalama to Halawa.<\/p>\n

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HGEA is backing a primary challenger to Sen. Donna Mercado Kim and campaigning against the longtime incumbent ahead of the Aug. 8 Senate District 14 race. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHawaii\u2019s largest public workers union campaigns against veteran senator - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2621\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawaii\u2019s largest public workers union campaigns against veteran senator - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HGEA is backing a primary challenger to Sen. 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