Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 3, 1 March 2008 — Galuteria runs for state Senate [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Galuteria runs for state Senate

Bainum weighs his options

By Lisa Asato Public lnfūrmatiūn Specialist With six months to go before the primary election, the race for state Senate District 12 is heat-

ing up, with Brickwood G a 1 u t e r i a announcing his candida-

cy, and Duke Bainum also

expressing interest in the seat currently held by Republican Gordon Trimble. Galuteria,

a co-host of the Office of Hawaiian A f f a i r s ' m o r n i n g

radio show Nā 'Ōiwi

'Ōlino, declared his candidacy in February, pulling papers as a candidate on the first day they became available. "If you're looking for the second coming, I'm not your man, but if you're looking for someone who loves Hawai'i unapologetically and passionately, I'm your guy," Galuteria said at a Feb. 1 press conference at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park, the site of his former boyhood home. The district runs from Ala Moana to Waiklkl to Iwilei. Galuteria said his top issues are sustainability for Waikīkī, affordable housing, health care, education, improving 0'ahu's commercial and recreational harbor systems, having a fixed guideway rapid transit system, and protecting the district's open spaces. A TV and radio personality and former ehainnan of the Democratic Party of Hawai'i, Galuteria said his background

in communications and bringing people together would make him a more effective lawmaker than Trimble, who is part of a GOP minority in the Legislature. "If you want to be effective in legislation you need the votes to advance your cause," Galuteria said. "Democrats have the majority, and if you want to work within that context then you need to be in the majority." But Trimble said having Republicans in the Legislature ensures a two-party system and a more balanced discussion. "What we need is better law, not more law, and you get better law by having open discussion," said Trimble, a two-term senator and an economist and teacher by profession. Trimble said he will "absolutely" seek reelection. Asked at the press conferenee about a possible run by former City Councilman Duke Bainum, Galuteria said running for a seat "from out of town or out of state" is an issue, "and I ' 11 leave it at that, and we'll cross that bridge if and when we have to." Bainum, however, said that while he has been traveling back and forth between the Islands and Arkansas, where he has helped with his family's business, "Hawai'i remains my home and my legal residence." He said he hasn't ruled out a run for Senate District 12 or another run for mayor. The Senate seat, he said, is "one of several I'm contemplating. I'm talking to a lot of friends and supporters and family and getting their input." Bainum, who now lives in District 12, lost the 2004 Honolulu mayoral race to Mufi Hannemann by less than 1,500 votes. □

GALUTERIA

TRIAABLE