Honolulu Council Race in Limbo as Tommy Waters Appeals Disqualification Ruling

The Tommy Waters appeal over term limits has left an already-underway election in an unusual state of suspension, with thousands of ballots cast, a candidate declared ineligible, and a week remaining before the Aug. 8 primary.

Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters filed notice of appeal late Friday with the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals, challenging a ruling that barred him from seeking a third term.

The Ruling That Started It

On Monday, 1st Circuit Court Judge James H. Ashford found Waters ineligible to run again, citing the city’s two-term limit and siding with his opponent Trevor Ozawa, who had brought the challenge.

The timing could hardly have been worse. Mail-in voting had opened July 21, and by the time the decision came down, thousands of voters had already returned ballots.

The Argument Over What Counts as a Term

The dispute turns on a single question: whether Waters’s April 2019 special election victory represents his first consecutive four-year term under the City Charter.

That special election existed only because of an earlier legal fight. The Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the original November 2018 general election, in which Ozawa had prevailed by just 22 votes, and ordered a rerun between the two men.

Waters won that April 2019 contest and took office on May 8, 2019, more than four months after the Council term formally began on Jan. 2, 2019.

His position rests on that gap. In his appeal, Waters pointed to Charter language stating that regular council terms run four years and that no person may be elected for more than two consecutive four-year terms. Because his first term lasted only three years and eight months, he argues it was an irregular, shortened term produced by an election that could not have delivered a full four years, leaving him eligible to run again.

Ozawa’s counterargument, which prevailed in Circuit Court, took the opposite view. He contended that the April 2019 vote was simply a redo of the invalidated 2018 election for the same regular four-year term, not a contest to fill a vacancy or a partial term. Under that reading, it counts fully toward the two-term cap.

Ozawa has consistently framed the Charter as limiting how many times someone may be elected rather than how much time they actually serve.

How the Election Will Be Run

The City Clerk’s office issued its first detailed guidance this week, and the mechanics are complicated.

Acting City Clerk Chadd Kadota acknowledged the frustration, particularly among voters who had already submitted ballots. He explained that because the ruling raised unusual legal and administrative questions in the middle of an active election, the Elections Division worked with Corporation Counsel to review the court order, the City Charter and state election law before determining how to proceed.

Officials said removing Waters’s name from ballots already printed, assembled or distributed is not practicable. Voters who have already returned ballots cannot obtain replacements, and Hawaii law does not permit voted ballots to be recalled or reissued.

The Elections Division also stated it lacks authority to cancel or restart the District 4 contest, noting its obligation to administer the election according to law and court orders.

Counting Rules for a Disqualified Candidate

The office laid out how votes will be handled.

Ballots marked for Waters will be tallied only to establish whether an eligible candidate has secured a majority of votes counted in the primary. Only eligible candidates can win outright or move forward to the Nov. 3 general election.

City law provides that an eligible candidate receiving a majority, described as 50 percent plus one, wins the seat outright in the primary.

If no eligible candidate reaches that threshold, the two eligible candidates with the highest vote totals advance to November.

Blank ballots and over-votes are excluded from the majority calculation.

The practical effect is that votes for Waters function as part of the denominator without helping any candidate cross the finish line.

Who Else Is Running

Beyond Ozawa, two political newcomers remain on the District 4 ballot: Tara Malia Gregory and Jason Liang.

The district covers a stretch of Oahu running from Waikiki through Hawaii Kai.

What Voters Should Know

Mailed ballots must reach the City Clerk’s office no later than 7 p.m. on Aug. 8. Voters may also use official election deposit boxes or vote in person at any Honolulu Voter Service Center.

Officials acknowledged the case may still face appellate review and said that absent a subsequent court order, they will continue administering the election as described while notifying the public promptly of any change.

The Unresolved Problem

An appellate ruling arriving before Aug. 8 could scramble everything again. One arriving afterward raises harder questions, particularly if Waters would have won under different circumstances.

For now, voters in District 4 are participating in an election where one name on the ballot cannot win, the counting rules have been rewritten mid-stream, and the legal foundation for all of it remains under review.