| Notes |
After returning to Maui, Tony had not taken a prominent role in any political campaign until 1992. Instead, he focused on community affairs, his young family and his legal practice. But in 1992, Tony agreed to take on one of the easiest jobs in Hawai‘i campaigns—coordinating on Maui with local lawyer Ry Barbin the re-election of U.S. Senator Dan Inouye. However, Maui turned out to be the center of that campaign. Inouye faced a direct appeal to the Filipino voters by Republican challenger Rick Reed who had distributed a Philippine Christmas video featuring his then Filipina wife. Inouye also faced a primary challenge from County Councilmember and maverick Democrat Wayne Nishiki, a friend of Reed. Reed and Nishiki were also part of the Independents for Godly Government created by Chris Butler who led an off-shoot of the Hare Krishna sect. In a relatively bruising campaign for the senior U.S. Senator, Inouye handily survived both challenges despite some salacious mudslinging and Nishiki’s theatrical use of chains to protest the Democratic Party attempt to enforce censure rules for Wayne’s support of his old buddy Reed. |