Bissen is biggest fundraiser so far in county mayor’s race
Early reports show mayoral candidates building big campaign war chests
Maui County mayoral candidate Richard Bissen Jr. has raised $176,465 over the past four months, around three times more than incumbent Mayor Michael Victorino, who garnered $56,655 in the same time period.
The latest reports released by the Campaign Spending Commission show the retired 2nd Circuit Court chief judge as the lead fundraiser in the mayor’s race so far, followed by Victorino and Maui County Council Member Mike Molina, who raised $4,655 in the same time period spanning Jan. 1 to April 25.
But Victorino, who began the reporting period with $116,345.24 and spent $49,126.55, had more funds remaining in his coffers with $123,873.25.
Bissen, who started with no funds and spent $96,280.72 of what he raised, had $80,184.19 leftover by the end of the reporting period.
Another frontrunner in the race, Molina started out with $20,848.80, raising $4,655 and spending $16,358.85 for a total of $9,144.95 leftover at the end of the period.
“I am just so honored people placed their trust in me by donating to my campaign,” Bissen said Tuesday afternoon. “You know people would take their hard-earned money and use it to support my campaign and what we are trying to do.”
He said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the amount his campaign had raised in the past four months, but added that he and his committee have been campaigning and working hard.
“I feel good people have confidence in our campaign and our platform,” he said.
Bissen, who noted that his donors “cross all spectrums,” had 15 supporters already donate the limit of $4,000 in the four-month period, including Micah Kane, CEO and president of the Hawaii Community Foundation; Bert A. Kobayashi Jr., CEO of Blacksand Capital, a real estate private equity firm in Hawaii; Patrick K. Kobayashi, chief executive officer at the Kobayashi Group, a privately owned and managed boutique real estate development/
investment firm focused solely on Hawaii; and David Ward IV, contractor with DW Ventures and HOPE Builders.
Bissen also received a $4,000 donation from his Santa Clara University classmate Jason T. Higa, CEO of FCH Enterprises, the parent company of Zippy’s, along with nearly $4,000 from former Hawaii governor and Maui County mayor Linda Lingle that included a donation of $3,500 and $400 in nonmonetary contributions, which were food and beverages for a meeting with supporters. Bissen said he has worked with Lingle for a long time and served in her cabinet when she was governor.
Discussing his donors on Oahu who included lawyers and businesspeople, Bissen also noted that he previously worked on Oahu and has a large family throughout the state.
Victorino, meanwhile, received two $4,000 contributions in the last four months, from Mike Israel, owner of Mike’s Hong Kong Bistro, and from the Hawaii Laborers PAC.
Other donations included $2,000 from the Local Union 1186 IBEW PAC Fund along with $2,000 from Hawaii Jewelers in Lahaina.
Victorino, who still had the largest amount of campaign funds after the recent reporting period, said: “I don’t think money determines a political race.”
“Yes, you need money to run a political campaign and I’m grateful for every dollar I get from whomever,” he said Tuesday afternoon.
“I feel good that right now, we are not in a bad position as far as the financial part is concerned,” he added.
Victorino said he was not surprised by the amount Bissen had raised but added that he did not have time yet to look at the reports. The incumbent mayor called his own campaign “more grassroots” with smaller donations.
“That’s where we are at, the grassroots level and thankful for every dollar we get,” he said.
Molina also described his campaign as historically grassroots and said he expected his opponents to bring in large sums.
“Going into the race, I expected the incumbent and other candidates to have larger war chests, receiving vast amounts of funding,” Molina said.
“As a grassroots candidate, listening to the people and their concerns for our community has always been my first priority, with campaign fundraising taking a backseat.”
For his largest campaign donations, Molina received $1,000 each from Michael L. Williams and wife Linda Cheryl Love. Williams is part of the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, an environmental and land use watchdog group. All other donations were $250 or less, according to the report.
“My campaign events over the last several years have been free, and I’m happy that many people take the time to attend and still donate their precious resources to help us out with campaign expenses, for which I am very grateful,” said Molina, who held a free campaign event Tuesday night. “We may not have a lot of money, but we have a lot of heart and soul to serve the people of Maui County.”
The only other candidate that has filed papers for the mayor’s seat is Alana Kay.
Because Kay’s candidate committee indicated that it will receive contributions and have expenditures that will total $1,000 or less during the election period, the candidate committee will electronically file only a final election period report and supplemental reports, according to Kay’s organizational report to the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission.
Others who have pulled papers for the mayoral seat but have not filed them are Cullan Bell, Alec Hawley, Jonah Lion and Laurent Zahnd.
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