Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 2022 — OHA Board of Trustees Primary Election Summary [ARTICLE]

OHA Board of Trustees Primary Election Summary

By Kelli Soileau This election year, six of the nine seats of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs' (OHA) Board of Trustees (BOT) were up for election: three "At-Large" trustee seats, and one eaeh for O'ahu, Maui and Hawai'i Island. OHA's BOT is made up of nine elected officials who serve four-year terms. Five of the seats represent specific islands: Kaua'i/Ni'ihau; O'ahu; Maui; Moloka'i/Lāna'i; and Hawai'i Island. Four of the seats are "At-Large." This year, incumbent Carmen "Hulu" Lindsey, trustee for the island of Maui and current BOT chair, ran unopposed and as such, was declared legally and duly elected following the candidate filing deadline in June. Because there are only two candidates for the Hawai'i Island seat - incumbent Mililani Trask and challenger Hope A. Cermelj - their names did not appear on primary election ballots. Instead, both candidates will advance to the general elections. ineumbent Trask replaced former Trustee Keola Lindsey (who stepped down in November 2021) via a special vote by the BOT last March in accordance with Hawai'i State law. For these reasons, only the three "At-Large" seats and the seat for O'ahu appeared on primary election ballots. Following the election on August 13, six "At-Large" candidates will advance to the general election in November, and the election for the O'ahu seat has been decided. Eleven candidates competed for the three available 'At-Large" seats during the primary election including incumbents Leina'ala Ahu Isa and John Waihe'e, IV. The top six candidates listed helow (in order of votes received in the primary), will be on the general election ballot. The three candidates receiving the most votes in the November general election will take the "At-Large" trustee seats.

At-Large Candidate results

There were four candidates for the O'ahu Island trustee seat, including incumbent Kalei Akaka and current At-Large Trustee Brendon K. Lee who opted to run for the O'ahu seat instead of running for re-election to an 'At-Large" seat. Incumbent Akaka won the position outright in the primary election with 56% of the votes cast, so this race has been decided and will not appear on the general election ballot. By law, if one candidate receives 50% +1 vote they are declared duly and legally elected. In preparation for the general election, we encourage our readers to review the OHA BOT candidate surveys that were printed in the July issue oiKa Wai Ola. Here are the links to the survey responses for eaeh of the remaining eight OHA BOT eandidates (At-Large and Hawai'i Island) in alphabetical order: Leina'ala Ahu Isa: https://kawaiola.news/hawaii-elections/lei-leinaala-ahu-isa Hope A. Cermelj: Did not participate in survey Brickwood Galuteria: https://kawaiola.news/hawaii-elections/brickwood-galuteria Sam K. King: https://kawaiola.news/hawaii-elections/sam-kalanikupua-king Chad Owens: https://kawaiola.news/hawaii-elections/chad-owens Keoni Souza: Did not participate in survey Mililani B. Trask: https://kawaiola.news/hawaii-elections/mililani-trask John D. Waihe'e, IV: https://kawaiola.news/hawaii-elections/john-waihee/ ■ Votes and stats were takenfrom the PRIMARY ELECTION 2022 - Statewide SUMMARY REPORT from Election.Hawaii.gov

Brickwood Galuteria 92,028 John D. Waihe'e, IV 80,491 Leina'ala Ahu Isa 69,639 Chad Owens 67,032 Keoni Souza 63,025 Sam K. King 55,549