TREVOR R. OZAWA, Petitioner/Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. CHADD KADOTA, in his official capacity as Acting City Clerk of the City and County of Honolulu; SCOTT T. NAGO, in his official capacity as Chief Election Officer of the State of Hawai‘i, Respondents/Defendants-Appellees, and THOMAS WATERS a/k/a TOMMY WATERS, Respondent/Defendant-Appellant.

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Ali‘iōlani Hale, 2nd Floor
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

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Attorney for Petitioner/Plaintiff-Appellee TREVOR R. OZAWA:
     Trevor R. Ozawa of the Law Office of Trevor R. Ozawa

Attorneys for Respondent/Defendant-Appellee CHADD KADOTA, in his official capacity as Acting City Clerk of the City and County of Honolulu:
     Duane W.H. Pang and Jacqueline M. De Leeuw Huang, Deputies Corporation Counsel

Attorneys for Respondent/Defendant-Appellee SCOTT T. NAGO, in his official capacity as Chief Election Officer of the State of Hawai‘i:
     Randall S. Nishiyama, Tiffany R. Chang, and Jung Min Lee, Deputy Attorneys General and Aaron H. Schulaner, General Counsel

Attorneys for Respondent/Defendant-Appellant Thomas Waters a/k/a Tommy Waters:
     Lex R. Smith, Joseph A. Stewart, Bruce A. Nakamura, and Zachary K. Shikada of Kobayashi Sugita & Goda, LLP

NOTE: Certificate of Recusal, by Associate Justice Todd W. Eddins, filed 08/13/26.

NOTE: Certificate of Recusal, by Chief Justice Vladimir P. Devens, filed 08/13/26.

NOTE: Order assigning Circuit Judge Michael K. Soong, in place of Devens, C.J., recused, Circuit Judge Peter T. Cahill, in place of Eddins, J., recused, and Circuit Judge Peter K. Kubota, due to a vacancy, filed 08/13/26.

NOTE: Order granting Application for Transfer, filed 08/13/26.

COURT: Mckenna, Acting C.J. and Ginoza, J., and Circuit Judge Soong, in place of Devens, C.J., recused, Circuit Judge Cahill, in place of Eddins, J. recused, and Circuit Judge Kubota, assigned by reason of vacancy.

Brief Description:

This transferred appeal arises from the Circuit Court of the First Circuit’s order and judgment declaring that Defendant-Appellant Thomas Waters, a/k/a Tommy Waters (Waters) is ineligible to be elected to the office of Councilmember, District IV, City and County of Honolulu for the 2027-2031 term.

Section 3-102 of the Revised Charter of the City & County of Honolulu (Charter) provides, in relevant part, that: “Except as provided in Section 16-122, the regular terms of office of councilmembers shall be four years beginning at twelve o’clock meridian on the second day of January following their election. . . . No person shall be elected to the office of councilmember for more than two consecutive four-year terms.”

On January 25, 2019, this court invalidated the November 6, 2018 nonpartisan second special election for councilmember for District IV, City and County of Honolulu. It is undisputed that Waters was elected District IV councilmember in a subsequent April 2019 special election and was sworn into office in May 2019. Waters was re-elected in November 2022.

In this case before the circuit court, Plaintiff-Appellee Trevor R. Ozawa sought a declaration that Waters may not be elected as District IV councilmember for the 2027-2031 term under Section 3-102 of the Charter.

The circuit court concluded that Waters is ineligible to be elected as District IV councilmember for the 2027-2031 term.