Djou Rakes In Campaign Cash, Caldwell Spends Heavily

The latest campaign finance filings in the Honolulu mayor’s race were made public Friday.

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Charles Djou raised three times more money than Kirk Caldwell in the last two weeks leading up to the Aug. 13 primary.

That’s according to state Campaign Spending Commission reports filed Sept. 2.

But Caldwell, the Honolulu mayor, has still far outraised his challenger in total. He has also spent more money throughout the campaign and still has more cash on hand as compared with his opponent.

Charles Djou stands with his wife Stacey flashes the Hawaiian 'Shaka' sign at the Pearl Country Club in Pearl City, HI, on Saturday, August 13, 2016.(Civil Beat photo by Ronen Zilberman)
Charles Djou and his wife, Stacey, on primary night. Djou has been out-raising opponent Kirk Caldwell in recent weeks. Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat

The mayor even dropped $87,000 on polling in just two weeks. The money went to SMS Research & Marketing Services of Honolulu and Campaign Communication Solutions of Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Though Djou had led Caldwell in opinion polls with a 9 percentage point lead, he lost to the mayor by less than 1 percentage point. The two are now competing for the Nov. 8 general election.

From July 30 through Aug. 13, Djou raised $167,828, spent $216,204 and had $146,688 in cash on hand remaining. He has raised a total of $653,612.

Recent contributors maxing out at the $4,000 limit include heiress Abigail Kawananakoa, Eric Tema of the MacNaughton Group and Chan Mitsunaga of Mitsunaga & Associates.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell and wife, Donna Tanoue as Caldwell speaks to supporters at campaign headquarters as results come in. 13 aug 2016
Mayor Kirk Caldwell speaks to supporters on primary night as his wife, Donna Tanoue, looks on. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Caldwell raised $57,616, spent $331,683 and had $499,944 in cash left over. He has raised a total of $2,908,714.

His contributors maxing out include people who work for him: George Atta, director of Planning and Permitting; Michele Nekota, director of Parks and Recreation; and Keith Ho, deputy director of Information Technology.

The latest campaign filings do not reflect what may have been raised since the primary.

Caldwell has already held three fundraisers during that time while Djou has held none — that is, at least none that required filing with the spending commission.

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