Not sure why some positions, like the mayor and county councils, are considered non-partisan.  Doesn't seem to be a difference.  Do they have to give up their membership as a registered Democrat/Republican?  I understand there's no primaries and theres no D or R next to their name, but is that the only difference?


https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/05/hawaii-democrats-trump-has-given-the-party-an-opportunity-to-win/

Santos-Tam was the introducer of the sensitive places ordinance and Waters voted for it too.

Santos-Tam also introduced a bill that's now ordinanhce that all bars must have NARCAN.

Seems like he likes to enable illegal behaviors.

Santos-Tam was the introducer of the sensitive places ordinance and Waters voted for it too.

Santos-Tam also introduced a bill that's now ordinanhce that all bars must have NARCAN.

Seems like he likes to enable illegal behaviors.

Santos-Tam, from his actual record, clearly exists only as a Marxist NGO vote-bot, wherever he is installed.

He was behind the infamous Glock switch bill to have C&C taxpayers pay Everytown for gun confiscation lawyers to sue Glock - a backdoor way to fund them with our money.

It was even too far for Blangiardi the gun-hater to support.

He relentlessly pushed for the “Empty Homes” bill - it’s open unconstitutionality and endless evidence that it lowered rents nowhere it was tried (Vancouver if I recall correctly) were hard facts that made no difference to this bot.  One thing it DID do was generate a huge tax-take while oppressing property owners - an ideal outcome to him, no doubt.

Fortunately, massive citizen pressure crushed that effort.

When they can no longer install bots like this, Hawaii has the chance to be free - but in the meantime they have to be aggressively opposed by those who are willing to to fight.

Not sure why some positions, like the mayor and county councils, are considered non-partisan.  Doesn't seem to be a difference.  Do they have to give up their membership as a registered Democrat/Republican?  I understand there's no primaries and theres no D or R next to their name, but is that the only difference?

https://www.civilbeat.org/2026/05/hawaii-democrats-trump-has-given-the-party-an-opportunity-to-win/

Besides the candidates being allowed to run without winning any party's primaries plus the fact any party affiliations are not printed on the ballot defines a non-partisan race.

The real difference though is fund raising.  Without a political party doing fundraising for you and offering party money to boost your campaign's chances of winning, you must find the money you need in other ways or have the means to self-fund it.  Fundraising often shows who big money donors want to win, big donors like teachers' unions, labor unions, and major corporations.

Not only are most elections decided by the size of the candidates' "war chests", but so is the number of special interests who expect reciprocation after the election.

I tink the other facet has to do with the candidates' future plans running for higher office.  A Republican winning a city council or mayoral race offers a chance to use that office as a stepping stone to state legislature, governor or federal offices.  I think we can see how political aspirations can have a short lifespan when their party affiliation makes it unlikely they can win races after vacating a non-partisan position.