Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 7, 1 July 2014 — In a first, OHA trustee candidates face off in primary races [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

In a first, OHA trustee candidates face off in primary races

For the first timer there will be a primary election for trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The election will be on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. Traditionally, OHA trustees have been elected in a winner-take-all special election held in eonjunction with the General Election. In 2013, the Hawai'i Legislature changed the law to provide for a primary election to narrow the field for the general election. This election guide covers candidates for Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustees whose names will appear on the Primary Election ballot. In the race for the O'ahu trustee, the top two vote getters will advance to the General Election.

In the race for At-Large trustees, the top six vote getters will advance to the General Eleetion, where three candidates will be elected to fill those seats. However, if any one of the eandidates receives more than 50 percent of the total votes cast in the Primary, he or she will automatically be elected and will not have to run in the General Election. In the Maui seat, only two candidates are running and therefore will both automatically advance to the General Election. As a result, this candidate survey does not include responses from the two candidates, Mahealani Wendt and Carmen Hulu Lindsey since they will not appear on the Primary Ballot.

All Primary Election candidates for the Board of Trustees were asked to provide answers to guestions posed by Ka Wai Ola, and were given a maximum of 200 words per guestion to answer. Additional guestions were also posed to eandidates, those guestions and answers ean be found at www.OHA.org/primaryelection2014.

Photo illustration - Francine Murray