Duke Bainum is running unopposed for the Honolulu City Council, yet still finds himself in the middle of the mayor's race.

The last-minute political maneuvers that led Bainum to learn about City Councilwoman Ann H. Kobayashi's decision to run for mayor have become a sub-plot of the race for Honolulu mayor.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Kobayashi sparred over the issue at Tuesday's debate, and some residents of District 5 — Makiki, Manoa, Kapahulu, Palolo — are calling for voters to leave their ballots blank in protest over the lack of options. Bainum is the sole surviving candidate seeking to represent the district.

Bainum maintains that the Kobayashi conspiracy theories are false and that he is driven by a love of serving the public.

Bainum said he learned July 22 of Kobayashi's decision and flew to Hawai'i, rented an apartment in the district, and gathered the signatures required to run.

Bainum, 56, who spends time with his wife, Jennifer, and two young sons when not campaigning, lost to Mayor Mufi Hannemann by roughly 1,300 votes in the 2004 mayoral race after a campaign in which he spent more than $4 million.

He said he called five people the week before this year's filing deadline to keep tabs on the situation.

The evening before the July 22 deadline, Bainum said he spoke with two people, including a Kobayashi supporter.

At the time, Bainum was in Los Angeles attending to a medical issue with his son Kona, he said.

"I did not know that Ann was running until Tuesday morning (July 22) after 11 a.m., when I spoke with Ann and asked if she was running. She told me at that time that she was running, and that she had called five people that might be interested in running for her seat. I was not one of the people she called," Bainum said in an interview with The Advertiser.

"I spoke with several people the night before the filing about the rumors of Ann running for mayor. One person told me he thought she was going to run, the other said she was not going to run. So I returned early from my trip to the Mainland not knowing if she was going to run or not."

Bainum purchased a $2.3 million, four-bedroom house in Kahala in a sale that closed July 22, the same day he rented an Ala Wai apartment to establish residency and be eligible for the open council seat.

Bainum, a doctor who is also involved in his family's banking business in Arkansas, has said the Kahala home is an investment property. He also owns a condo at Nauru Tower and property on the Big Island. He contracted for the Kahala house in May but the sale didn't close until July 22, coincidentally on the filing deadline for the council.

The City Charter requires candidates to be registered voters in the districts they want to represent.

Bainum had flown in from the Mainland, rented an apartment at the Marco Polo near the Ala Wai, and registered to vote from his new address on July 22 to qualify.

"I changed clothes, then went up to Manoa Marketplace and Palolo to get signatures," Bainum said. "I just want to win by as big a margin as I can."

The Kahala and Nauru Tower properties are outside of Kobayashi's district.

Bainum had said earlier this year that he might be interested in a Waikiki state Senate campaign, the mayor's race or other political races, but his name did not surface publicly as a possible replacement for Kobayashi until July 22. Despite his uncontested race, he has bought television ad time as part of an effort to reconnect with the electorate, he said.

Bainum said he would work to address drainage issues in Palolo, the proliferation of adult-residential care homes and flooding in Manoa, while working to see how a revised blueprint for the University of Hawai'i would affect parking and other aspects of life for district residents.

Bainum said the economy is worrisome and that he has the experience as a businessman to promote efficient spending.

"We have some real tough financial times ahead of us here," Bainum said. "I'm concerned about the city budget, I'm concerned about the fact that we continue to spend at such a high rate ..."

Bainum says he is focused on addressing the concerns of his constituents and has not considered running for mayor again.

Bainum entered Hawai'i politics in the 1980s, with a stint on the McCully-Mo'ili'ili Neighborhood Board. He was elected to the state House in 1990 and re-elected in 1992.

In 1994, he was elected to the City Council. During his mayoral race against Hannemann, Bainum was the front-runner until late in the race.

"I like city issues. I was thinking about running for the state Senate, but the dramatic issues I see are facing the city right now," Bainum said.

He said he supports mass transit but wishes other alternatives and technologies could have been explored more thoroughly.

SUDDEN ARRIVAL

Hannemann has accused Bainum of parachuting in from the Mainland and has challenged Bainum's residency.

Bainum maintains that he was living here full time at the time of the filing, at 1330 Ala Moana.

When the issue arose during Tuesday's mayoral debate, Kobayashi told Hannemann to call Bainum and ask him rather than engage in "whisper campaigns" and "innuendo."

Hannemann criticized Kobayashi for leaving her constituents without choices at the last minute.

"Duke Bainum had an unfair advantage in filing to run for Kobayashi's abandoned council seat unopposed," said A.J. Halagao, Hannemann's campaign coordinator. "We are still hearing from upset residents from Manoa, McCully, Mo'ili'ili and Makiki who feel betrayed and are wondering how in one day someone can fly into town, rent an apartment, change residency, and file nomination papers with the requisite signatures — some of which were Kobayashi's staff — and end up running for her council seat unopposed.

"The unfortunate result is that the residents of District 5 will be represented by Bainum, someone who did not move into their district until the filing deadline. Even that is questionable since it was reported that Bainum recently purchased a $2.3 million house in Kahala, which is outside District 5."

The District 5 City Council seat is the subject of protest by some community members frustrated with the lack of options.

Organizers are circulating literature throughout the district, and waved signs yesterday asking voters in the district to leave their ballots blank in protest.

State Rep. Kirk Caldwell was disqualified after filing to run in the race and George Waialeale withdrew.

"A lot of people think I caused it (the seat) to be uncontested," Bainum said. "Totally false. If people are aggravated at it being uncontested, they should be mad at Caldwell and Mayor Hannemann for botching that. I would hope that they (District 5 residents) give me a chance to prove myself, and to see if I attend to constituent concerns and if I advocate for their issues."

Robyn Furuya, a Manoa resident and member of the grassroots group "Vote Blank For Council District 5," said the group's efforts are not a personal vendetta against Bainum but rather a protest against three issues created by Kobayashi's last-minute departure.

The uncontested race, coupled with Kobayashi's last-minute departure and Bainum's renting of an apartment to become eligible has left many in the district feeling slighted, she said.

"Whether it was planned or not, it just leaves the wrong impression. She had every right to run for mayor, but the fact remains that it would be a courtesy, at the very least, to give the members of the district some prior warning," Furuya said. "She can say that it was a last-minute thing, but it's like coming home one day and your wife telling you, 'I want a divorce.' "

Kobayashi's campaign co-chair, City Councilman Donovan M. Dela Cruz, said people were urging Kobayashi to run months before the deadline but the decision was difficult.

"It was not an easy decision for Ann Kobayashi to decide to run for mayor. If she ran for re-election, she would have run unopposed but she strongly felt that the city needed to move in a new direction," Dela Cruz said. "We need to focus on what we need, what we can afford and what we need to maintain."