Ben Cayetano - Cayetano Administration

Cayetano Administration

Term limits forced Waihee into retirement and the Democratic Party nominated Cayetano to run for Governor of Hawaiʻi in 1994. With attorney Mazie K. Hirono as his running mate, Cayetano was voted into office.

In 1998, Mayor of Maui Linda Lingle was nominated by the Republican Party to run against Cayetano on an agenda of government reform. For months leading into election day, Cayetano trailed Lingle in the major media polls. In the closest election in Hawaii's history, Cayetano won a second term by a single percentage point validated by an official recount of ballots.

Cayetano left office in December 2002. He was succeeded by former Republican challenger Lingle.

Throughout his tenure in office, Cayetano had to contend with economic uncertainty and serious fiscal problems. Declining tax revenues led to budget shortfalls, and the governor often found himself at odds with his fellow Democrats in the state legislature as he attempted to implement budget cuts to balance the state budget.

On education, the Cayetano administration built thirteen new schools, and he was able to persuade the teachers' union to extend the school year by seven days. Also under his administration, the University of Hawaiʻi system gained autonomy over internal affairs. On the other hand, labor disputes with UH professors and public school teachers in April 2001 led to simultaneous strikes by both unions that crippled the state's entire educational system for three weeks.

On January 19, 2012, Cayetano came out of retirement to run for the office of Honolulu Mayor. In the primary election on August 11, 2012, he received more votes than either of his primary opponents, Kirk Caldwell and Peter Carlisle. However, he did not achieve the majority required to win the election outright, and will face Caldwell in the general election on November 6.