Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi handily wins reelection to second term

In a contentious race, Kim Coco Iwamoto has been elected to House District 25, unseating House Speaker Scott Saiki.
Published: Aug. 10, 2024 at 3:12 PM HST|Updated: Aug. 10, 2024 at 10:32 PM HST
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - In the race for Honolulu mayor, incumbent Rick Blangiardi has handily won reelection to a second term.

The first election results showed Blangiardi garnered an overwhelming majority of the votes — 72% — followed by opponent Choon James with just 12% of the votes.

“I’m kind of speechless,” Blangiardi said on primary election night on Saturday. “This job is a challenge a lifetime, responsibility of a lifetime, and the privilege of a lifetime.”

Blangiardi had to receive 50% plus one vote in order to win outright. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters would head to a runoff in the general election.

Blangiardi took office back in 2020, at a time of crisis, when Oahu was grappling with the coronavirus pandemic and the city’s response to it.

His administration had focused on a number of key issues, including homelessness, cost of living and public safety.

“As idyllic as it is to live here and everything that’s so good about our home, we’ve had these long-standing problems,” Blangiardi said. “This team came in committed to do something about that. I love the momentum. I love the traction we’ve gotten to date. I think the public can see that we’re looking forward to just taking it to a whole different level.”

Blangiardi said he’s tackling the cost of living by emphasizing affordable housing and speeding up permits for new housing.

“Clearly, we’ve been in a housing crisis for decades. We’re working our way through that,” he said, in a previous interview.

He added, “We’re doing a lot of unprecedented things.”

Special Section: Election 2024

During his tenure, Blangiardi also oversaw the highly anticipated launch of the first segment of Honolulu rail’s project, Skyline, in 2023 — after years of delays and cost overruns.

Even though ridership was disappointing in its first year because the Kapolei to Aloha Stadium route doesn’t serve many employment centers, Blangiardi and rail leaders have said they were proud to get the system running efficiently after so many years.

“They expected us to perform, and we did, and I’m really proud of that,” he said.

Blangiardi faced three opponents, including long-time city hall activist and realtor Choon James.

Meanwhile, in the Honolulu City Council races, Esther Kiaaina was reelected along with other incumbents. Scott Nishimoto, a former state representative, won election to a four-year term in Honolulu Council District 5, replacing Calvin Say.

Click here for full election results.