Sharon Har faces complex House reelection bid

State Rep. Sharon Har could face voter backlash in the fallout from her 2021 drunken driving arrest and subsequent acquittal, or she might claim victory in the Aug. 13 Democratic primary to represent House District 42 if two strong challengers split the opposition vote against her.

In the 2020 Democratic primary, voters in District 42 (Kapolei-Makakilo) cast 5,197 ballots and Har won 69% of them against a single challenger. It takes only a plurality of primary votes to move on to the November general election.

“If I were Sharon Har, I would be happy that I have two challengers, instead of one, who could possibly split the ‘Not Sharon Har Vote,” said Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii’s Public Policy Center.

Har’s 2022 reelection bid to again represent House District 42 is one of the tightest primary races, Moore said, because of criticism over her arrest and two formidable contenders.

One of them is Anthony Makana Paris, chair of the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board and a research analyst with the Hawaii Iron Workers Stabilization Fund, who previously ran for the Honolulu City Council and Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Also in the race is retired educator and first-time candidate Lori Lee Goeas, who taught at Kahuku High and Intermediate, Kailua Intermediate, Kapolei Middle and Moanalua High schools, the University of Hawaii-Manoa and the University of Phoenix. She retired in 2020 as director of the state Department of Education’s Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design.

Both Paris and Goeas said Har’s arrest did not factor into their decision to try to unseat her, but they were motivated by a desire to help people in the district by bringing fresh perspectives to the House.

Har’s DUI case was dismissed and she was acquitted Jan. 10 after her attorney, Howard Luke, cited a Dec. 10 Hawaii Supreme Court decision that criminal complaints are defective if they do not follow a procedural law requiring a signed affidavit or official declaration from the complaining party.

She subsequently apologized several times, including in a newsletter to constituents and on the House floor in the final days of the 2022 legislative session.

But the perception persists that Har somehow received favorable treatment, which could lead to voter backlash, Moore said.

“It’s going to be hard to fight that,” he said. “The one thing voters hate more than anything is elected officials using their position to gain advantage. Whether that’s fair or not is not for me to judge.”

Political analyst Neal Milner questions how many Kapolei-Makakilo voters paid close attention to Har’s arrest and the aftermath, which included a special House committee investigation that did not invoke any punishment other than requiring Har to write a letter to House Speaker Scott Saiki explaining the details of her driving privileges.

“They’re probably not following that closely,” Milner said. “Just because she looked bad in the eyes of a lot of important people doesn’t mean it’s going to carry the day, and there’s no reason she’ll lose her district.”

Har did not address how she sees the primary race shaking out, but told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement:

“… I’m a passionate advocate for a region that represents one of the last places on Oahu where working families can afford to live. I’m grateful to have played a leading role in securing funding for new roads, schools, and job centers — while preserving open space — that have made the Second City, a true community for our kama‘aina. … I’m running for reelection to ensure the State lives up to the promises it made to the people of West Oahu.”

Paris, 41, calls himself a progressive Democrat who supports organized labor while also looking at issues from a faith-based perspective.

“I’m just a local boy born and raised from Nanakuli, from the West Side,” he said. “It’s time for my generation to be part of the solution. I am definitely fairly progressive on issues but also a person of faith on social issues. … People want government to work for them. They’re uncertain how their kids or grandkids are going to be able to come home or stay home.”

Goeas, whose husband, Scott, retired as a captain from the Honolulu Police Department, said she decided to come out of retirement at the age of 53 and seek her first elected office because “I’m just a sucker for helping out.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, “We had watched family members lose their jobs, and we saw growing divisions across the state — every which way, whether it was the vaccine, economically; every which way you turned, there was a growing division,” she said. “This is not right. To whom much is given, much is expected.”