In a crowded Capitol conference room in early 2015, Gov. David Ige implored state senators to confirm his choice of Carleton Ching, a lobbyist for a big development company, to head the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The votes weren’t there, even among some of his longtime allies. Amid an outpouring of opposition from environmentalists, lawmakers dealt Ige his first major blow as governor —three months after he took office.

After withdrawing the nomination, Ige regrouped and rebounded. The Senate swiftly confirmed his replacement pick of Suzanne Case, former head of The Nature Conservancy, who has led the department ever since.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

It’s how Ige has continued to steer the state, by taking a step-back approach to problems and realigning his course as needed. An engineer by trade, he favors fiddling until he finds the finds the right fix, which can make him appear indecisive, political observers said.

“I’m a collaborative leader, committed to engaging the public, being open and honest, being innovative and getting the work done,” Ige said in a recent interview.

His deliberative style of leadership contrasts with his opponent in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary, Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa. The former labor attorney comfortably commands a room, argues her points and stands behind decisions even if they grow unpopular.

Where Ige is meticulous and thoughtful, Hanabusa is strong-willed and decisive.

“Leadership is earned; it is not self-proclaimed,” Hanabusa said in an interview. “To be a leader, others must believe you are a leader and be willing to follow or at least respect your decisions.”

“This is an incredibly unique race,” said Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center. “It’s about personality, it’s not about ideology. Part of the struggle for Hanabusa is how she will be able to articulate the way things will be different if she’s governor.”

A ‘Sweetheart Deal’ And A Missile Crisis

Hanabusa has been long criticized for pushing through an unprecedented $75 million tax credit that benefitted a single developer, Jeff Stone, 15 years ago when she was in the state Senate. He wanted the tax break to build a “world-class” aquarium at the luxury Ko Olina resort in her district.

Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano, who has endorsed Hanabusa for governor, vetoed the bill in 2002, prompting her to sue him unsuccessfully before trying again the following year. She reintroduced the measure in 2003 and Republican Gov. Linda Lingle signed it into law.

In Cayetano’s veto message, he said the “super” tax credit would not benefit the tourism industry as a whole.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Cayetano told Civil Beat his “tangle” with Hanabusa led to an enduring respect for her.

“I’ve had my differences with her and during my differences I noticed she had a loyal group of senators who followed her and had great confidence in her,” he said.

While he disagreed with the Ko Olina proposal, Cayetano said it evidently worked out well.

“Sometimes people do those kind of things to send a message to their constituents about their vision of the area,” he said.

In a televised debate earlier this month, Hanabusa said she would do the same thing again. While the aquarium was never built and only about $3 million of the tax credit was used, she said the legislation helped spur the development of Ko Olina and Disney’s Aulani resort, which have provided jobs for westside Oahu residents.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

“That is what leadership is all about,” she said.

Ige saw it as special-interest legislation. And he reminded the debate’s viewers how Stone, who gave $6,000 to Hanabusa’s campaign in September, helped enrich her then-fiancé John Souza by selling him a Ko Olina townhouse a month after the tax-credit bill became law and financing the bulk of the transaction. Souza sold the townhouse less than two years later for a $400,000 profit.

Souza married Hanabusa in 2008 and now chairs her campaign for governor.

Ige called it a “sweetheart land deal,” echoing the criticism Hanabusa heard during prior election campaigns.

Hanabusa has made leadership her campaign theme. While she has not shared many specifics about what she would do as governor, she has made it abundantly clear that she does not believe Ige displayed the leadership Hawaii needed when confronted with the false missile alert in January.