The first campaign spending reports in the special City Council election were filed yesterday and the lesson was clear.

To rise to the status of a leading candidate, you had better have money, be related to folks with some money, or be able to call on friends with access to disposable income.

The top candidates–Ann Kobayashi, Nathaniel Kinney, and Matt Matsuaga–all relied on their own funds or money from family and institutions they control or have influence with.

Both Honolulu dailies reported on the funding race.

I think the short Star-Bulletin story by Richard Borreca beat out Gordon Pang’s longer piece in the Adveriser.

Why? Because it’s not just about how much money a candidate receives, but where and who it comes from and what that can tell us about the candidate’s base of support. Borreca cut right to the chase and explained the source of funds brought in by the major candidates.

None of the three major candidates reported many contributions from voters in the district. Nathaniel Kinney relied on his father’s influence among island unions to rise from an unknown to the leading fundraiser, while Ann Kobayashi bet a chunk of her own cash, while her donors reflected a more diverse base as a result of her career in politics. Nearly two-thirds of Matsunaga’s receipts came from one source–himself. Matsunaga also loaned $31,000 to his unsuccessful 1986 Congressional campaign.

Kobayashi was in a class by herself in terms of support from grassroots contributors, reporting a total of $12,122 in amounts of under $100, followed by Matsunaga ($2,890), and Kinney with just $615 from small donors.

I also would quibble with the Advertiser’s headlline–“25% of council ballots in so far”.

That’s 25% of ballots mailed out. But that amounts to over half of the number of ballots actually expected to be cast, as the story notes way down at the bottom.

Takahashi said the returns mirror that of the recent 3rd District special election, which saw a turnout of about 45 percent.

A study by council staff showed that 50.6 percent of the total votes cast in that race were received by the city clerk’s office during the first three days of voting.

The Advertiser story ends with a quote from city elections officer Glenn Takahashi: “People tend to hold on to things until the end,” Takahashi said.

But that’s directly contrary to the data from the earlier District 3 special election, where 60% of votes were cast in the first week, another 20% in the second week, and the balance in the last days of voting. Those data don’t paint a picture of voters holding on to things until the end.