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City elections in Honolulu, Hawaii (2019)
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| 2019 Honolulu elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: N/A |
| General election: April 13, 2019 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: City Council District 4 |
| Total seats up: 1 |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2019 |
The city of Honolulu, Hawaii, held a special election for the District 4 seat of the city council on April 13, 2019.[1] The special election was called after the results from the November 6, 2018, election for this seat were invalidated by the Hawaii Supreme Court. The two candidates who faced off in the first election again faced off on April 13.[2][3]
Final results from November 6, 2018, showed incumbent council member Trevor Ozawa defeated former state Representative Tommy Waters by 22 votes out of over 36,000 ballots cast, a margin of 0.06 percent. Waters subsequently challenged the results, arguing that some mailed absentee ballots were received after the 6 p.m. deadline on Election Day and should not have been counted.[4][5]
On January 25, 2019, the Hawaii Supreme Court unanimously invalidated the results of that election and ordered a new election. The court determined that 350 absentee mail-in ballots were received after the deadline and that those ballots “were subsequently commingled with other ballots and then counted in determining the outcome of the election.” The court ruled, “These 350 ballots exceed the 22-vote margin by which the election was decided and, because they have become commingled with other ballots that were validly cast, it is now impossible to exclude the late-received ballots and determine the correct election result.”[6]
Elections
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
General election
Special general election for Honolulu City Council District 4
Tommy Waters defeated Trevor Ozawa in the special general election for Honolulu City Council District 4 on April 13, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tommy Waters (Nonpartisan) | 51.4 | 17,491 |
 | Trevor Ozawa (Nonpartisan) | 48.5 | 16,487 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 27 | ||
| Total votes: 34,005 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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Past elections
2018
City Council District 2
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Honolulu City Council District 2
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Heidi Tsuneyoshi (Nonpartisan) | 53.5 | 7,737 |
| Robert Bunda (Nonpartisan) | 28.5 | 4,128 | ||
 | Choon James (Nonpartisan) | 14.1 | 2,040 | |
| Dave Burlew (Nonpartisan) | 3.9 | 558 | ||
| Total votes: 14,463 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
City Council District 4
Note: The results of this election were invalidated by the Hawaii Supreme Court. A special election to fill the seat was held on April 13, 2019.[7][8]
General election
General election for Honolulu City Council District 4
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| Trevor Ozawa (Nonpartisan) | 50.0 | 18,358 | |
| Tommy Waters (Nonpartisan) | 50.0 | 18,336 | |
Vote totals may be incomplete for this race. | ||||
| Total votes: 36,694 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
City Council District 6
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Honolulu City Council District 6
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Carol Fukunaga (Nonpartisan) | 52.6 | 11,407 |
 | Ikaika Hussey (Nonpartisan) | 22.6 | 4,903 | |
 | Tyler Dos Santos-Tam (Nonpartisan) | 19.9 | 4,316 | |
 | Zack Stoddard (Nonpartisan) | 4.9 | 1,073 | |
| Total votes: 21,699 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
City Council District 8
General election
General election for Honolulu City Council District 8
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brandon Elefante (Nonpartisan) | 54.9 | 14,413 |
 | Kelly Puamailani Kitashima (Nonpartisan) | 45.1 | 11,858 | |
| Total votes: 26,271 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
2014
Waters and Ozawa previously faced off in the 2014 election. In the general election race, Ozawa defeated Waters by 47 votes out of 37,162 ballots cast, a margin of 0.2 percentage points. Waters challenged those results and asked the Hawaii Supreme Court to call for a recount, but his request was rejected.[9]
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Hawaii elections, 2019
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in local elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many areas. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local election. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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About the city
- See also: Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is a city in Hawaii. It is a consolidated city-county with Honolulu County. The city-county includes the city of Honolulu, the rest of the island of Oahu, and the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, with the exception of the Midway Islands which are controlled by the federal government.[10] As of 2010, its population was 337,256.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Honolulu uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[11]
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Honolulu, Hawaii | ||
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | Hawaii | |
| Population | 337,256 | 1,360,301 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 60 | 6,422 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 17.2% | 25% |
| Black/African American | 2% | 1.8% |
| Asian | 53.2% | 37.8% |
| Native American | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 8% | 10.1% |
| Other (single race) | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| Multiple | 18.4% | 23.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.3% | 10.5% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89% | 92% |
| College graduation rate | 37.2% | 33% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $71,465 | $81,275 |
| Persons below poverty level | 10.6% | 9.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
State profile
- See also: Hawaii and Hawaii elections, 2019
Partisan data
The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019
Presidential voting pattern
- Hawaii voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2018 elections, both U.S. Senators from Hawaii were Democrats.
- Both of Hawaii's U.S. Representatives were Democrats.
State executives
- Democrats held four of Hawaii's 18 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
- Hawaii's governor was Democrat David Ige.
State legislature
- Democrats controlled the Hawaii State Senate with a 24-1 majority.
- Democrats controlled the Hawaii House of Representatives with a 46-5 majority.
Hawaii Party Control: 1992-2025
Twenty-six years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
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| Demographic data for Hawaii | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 1,425,157 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 6,423 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 25.4% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 37.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 9.9% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 23.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 9.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 30.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $69,515 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 11.6% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Hawaii. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in Hawaii. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Hawaii with 62.2 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 30 percent. In presidential elections between 1960 and 2016, Hawaii voted Democratic 86.67 percent of the time and Republican 13.33 percent of the time. The only presidential elections from 1960 to 2016 where Hawaii voted for the Republican candidate were the elections in 1972 and 1984. Richard Nixon (R) and Ronald Reagan (R), respectively, won nearly every state in those elections.[12] Hawaii voted Democratic in every presidential election from 2000 to 2016.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Hawaii. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[13][14]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won all 51 state House districts in Hawaii with an average margin of victory of 42.9 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won all 51 state House districts in Hawaii with an average margin of victory of 31.7 points. Six of those districts were controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 78.86% | 18.99% | D+59.9 | 67.83% | 22.93% | D+44.9 | D |
| 2 | 81.90% | 16.56% | D+65.3 | 70.83% | 20.79% | D+50 | D |
| 3 | 78.94% | 18.86% | D+60.1 | 66.06% | 24.28% | D+41.8 | D |
| 4 | 74.69% | 20.89% | D+53.8 | 61.65% | 26.42% | D+35.2 | D |
| 5 | 70.37% | 27.44% | D+42.9 | 60.96% | 30.41% | D+30.5 | D |
| 6 | 63.87% | 34.13% | D+29.7 | 55.17% | 36.08% | D+19.1 | D |
| 7 | 70.15% | 27.80% | D+42.3 | 62.01% | 28.48% | D+33.5 | D |
| 8 | 77.15% | 21.48% | D+55.7 | 66.05% | 24.87% | D+41.2 | D |
| 9 | 82.40% | 16.67% | D+65.7 | 71.21% | 21.87% | D+49.3 | D |
| 10 | 66.49% | 31.34% | D+35.2 | 59.75% | 31.99% | D+27.8 | D |
| 11 | 65.21% | 32.49% | D+32.7 | 59.60% | 31.32% | D+28.3 | D |
| 12 | 73.87% | 23.66% | D+50.2 | 64.66% | 24.79% | D+39.9 | D |
| 13 | 78.96% | 18.21% | D+60.8 | 65.73% | 21.35% | D+44.4 | D |
| 14 | 72.91% | 23.66% | D+49.2 | 61.55% | 28.21% | D+33.3 | D |
| 15 | 73.72% | 24.41% | D+49.3 | 62.16% | 30.30% | D+31.9 | D |
| 16 | 73.80% | 24.28% | D+49.5 | 63.81% | 27.75% | D+36.1 | D |
| 17 | 64.14% | 34.73% | D+29.4 | 61.51% | 32.48% | D+29 | R |
| 18 | 64.74% | 34.13% | D+30.6 | 62.93% | 31.13% | D+31.8 | D |
| 19 | 68.62% | 30.02% | D+38.6 | 65.35% | 28.24% | D+37.1 | D |
| 20 | 74.85% | 23.28% | D+51.6 | 68.93% | 24.22% | D+44.7 | D |
| 21 | 75.85% | 22.20% | D+53.7 | 69.81% | 22.91% | D+46.9 | D |
| 22 | 63.65% | 33.95% | D+29.7 | 60.51% | 32.82% | D+27.7 | D |
| 23 | 74.44% | 23.74% | D+50.7 | 70.35% | 22.60% | D+47.8 | D |
| 24 | 72.02% | 26.06% | D+46 | 67.57% | 25.28% | D+42.3 | D |
| 25 | 72.41% | 25.81% | D+46.6 | 65.99% | 26.66% | D+39.3 | D |
| 26 | 69.71% | 28.67% | D+41 | 66.03% | 27.94% | D+38.1 | D |
| 27 | 73.79% | 24.89% | D+48.9 | 66.44% | 27.44% | D+39 | D |
| 28 | 75.18% | 23.76% | D+51.4 | 65.88% | 27.53% | D+38.3 | D |
| 29 | 72.71% | 25.65% | D+47.1 | 65.49% | 27.73% | D+37.8 | D |
| 30 | 74.18% | 25.14% | D+49 | 66.96% | 27.11% | D+39.8 | D |
| 31 | 67.31% | 31.63% | D+35.7 | 60.03% | 33.91% | D+26.1 | D |
| 32 | 71.52% | 27.25% | D+44.3 | 61.88% | 31.86% | D+30 | D |
| 33 | 71.14% | 28.00% | D+43.1 | 64.50% | 29.83% | D+34.7 | D |
| 34 | 73.09% | 25.92% | D+47.2 | 63.82% | 30.29% | D+33.5 | D |
| 35 | 71.64% | 27.28% | D+44.4 | 60.83% | 33.40% | D+27.4 | D |
| 36 | 65.58% | 33.62% | D+32 | 58.08% | 35.51% | D+22.6 | R |
| 37 | 68.17% | 30.78% | D+37.4 | 60.07% | 33.75% | D+26.3 | D |
| 38 | 75.65% | 23.90% | D+51.8 | 68.58% | 27.30% | D+41.3 | D |
| 39 | 66.08% | 33.05% | D+33 | 55.93% | 37.10% | D+18.8 | D |
| 40 | 63.55% | 35.44% | D+28.1 | 52.55% | 41.16% | D+11.4 | R |
| 41 | 64.77% | 34.18% | D+30.6 | 52.81% | 39.86% | D+13 | D |
| 42 | 62.03% | 36.85% | D+25.2 | 51.48% | 41.06% | D+10.4 | D |
| 43 | 69.40% | 29.09% | D+40.3 | 51.86% | 39.48% | D+12.4 | R |
| 44 | 71.73% | 26.37% | D+45.4 | 52.37% | 37.93% | D+14.4 | D |
| 45 | 65.66% | 32.94% | D+32.7 | 57.08% | 35.06% | D+22 | R |
| 46 | 69.74% | 29.10% | D+40.6 | 57.86% | 34.83% | D+23 | D |
| 47 | 51.82% | 46.23% | D+5.6 | 48.08% | 40.22% | D+7.9 | D |
| 48 | 67.63% | 31.05% | D+36.6 | 58.22% | 33.67% | D+24.6 | D |
| 49 | 71.40% | 27.44% | D+44 | 63.21% | 29.76% | D+33.4 | D |
| 50 | 64.02% | 34.41% | D+29.6 | 59.88% | 31.83% | D+28 | R |
| 51 | 70.33% | 28.32% | D+42 | 61.16% | 30.89% | D+30.3 | D |
| Total | 70.55% | 27.84% | D+42.7 | 62.22% | 30.04% | D+32.2 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
See also
| Honolulu, Hawaii | Hawaii | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ KITV 4, "Special election for open City Council District 4 seat to be held Saturday April 13," January 29, 2019
- ↑ KITV 4, "'Dirty politics': City Council candidate Trevor Ozawa considering legal action after Supreme Court ruling," January 28, 2019
- ↑ KITV 4, "Special election for open City Council District 4 seat to be held Saturday April 13," January 29, 2019
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Incumbent Trevor Ozawa pulls off win over Tommy Waters in City Council rematch," November 6, 2018
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Waters challenges results of Ozawa’s 22-vote win," November 26, 2018
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Hawaii Supreme Court invalidates Trevor Ozawa’s 22-vote victory over Tommy Waters," January 25, 2019
- ↑ KITV 4, "'Dirty politics': City Council candidate Trevor Ozawa considering legal action after Supreme Court ruling," January 28, 2019
- ↑ KITV 4, "Special election for open City Council District 4 seat to be held Saturday April 13," January 29, 2019
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Court Rejects Tommy Waters’ Election Challenge for Honolulu City Council," December 24, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii.gov, "Hawaii," accessed August 6, 2019
- ↑ Honolulu City Charter, Sec. 1.103, 3.101, 5.103, accessed October 21, 2014
- ↑ 270towin.com, "Historical Presidential Elections," accessed August 2, 2017
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
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