Circuit Court Judge James Ashford ruled today, maintaining that Waters cannot run for a Third Consecutive Term for District District IV – Hawai‘i Kai, Kuli‘ou‘ou, Niu Valley, ‘Āina Haina, Wailupe, Wai‘alae Iki, Kalani Valley, Kāhala, Wilhemina Rise, Kaimukī, Kapahulu,
Diamond Head, and Waikīkī

However, this does not prevent Waters to take a break and run again for a seat in the Honolulu City Council. It’s just that ““No person shall be elected to the office of councilmember for more
than two consecutive four-year terms.” as currently stipulated in the Honolulu City Charter.

Trevor Ozawa filed a lawsuit questioning Chair Waters’ action:

Below is excerpt of the Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief from the Circuit Court:

This action presents a single, narrow, and purely legal question: whether
Defendant Waters is eligible under Section 3-102 of the Revised Charter of
the City and County of Honolulu (“Charter”) to be a candidate for, and to be
elected to, a third consecutive four-year term as Councilmember for District
IV in the November 2026 election.

3. Charter Section 3-102 provides, in relevant part:

“No person shall be elected to the office of councilmember for more
than two consecutive four-year terms.”

4. Defendant Waters was elected to the office of councilmember for the 2019–
2023 four-year term at a special remedial election held April 13, 2019. He
was elected to the office of councilmember for the 2023–2027 four-year term
at the general election held November 8, 2022. He has now filed a
nomination paper seeking election to the 2027–2031 four-year term — his
third consecutive election to a four-year council term, in direct violation of
Charter Section 3-102.

5. On June 5, 2026, Plaintiff filed a timely Written Objection to Defendant
Waters’ nomination paper with the Acting City Clerk pursuant to Hawaii
Revised Statutes (“HRS”) § 12-8, setting forth in detail the legal and factual
basis for Defendant Waters’ ineligibility. On June 12, 2026, the Acting City
Clerk issued a preliminary determination declining to refer the matter to
circuit court and stating that “no further action will be taken by this Office.”

6. The Acting City Clerk’s determination does not withstand scrutiny. It rests
on the proposition that Defendant Waters was elected to “a term of office
that commenced on May 6, 2019” — a phrase, and a date, that appear
nowhere in the Charter. Charter Section 3-102 provides that regular
council terms begin “at twelve o’clock meridian on the second day of
January following [the councilmember’s] election,” not on the date of the
councilmember’s oath of office. The Acting City Clerk’s determination
conflates the commencement of Defendant Waters’ personal service with
the commencement of the Charter-defined four-year term — a conflation
the plain text of the Charter forecloses.

7. This is the second time the Acting City Clerk has reached this same
erroneous conclusion on this same record. A substantially similar objection
filed by Christian H. Butt on March 23, 2026 received a materially identical
response on April 7, 2026 — including the same factual error regarding the
date of Defendant Waters’ swearing-in.

8. Plaintiff brings this action because no other adequate remedy exists to
resolve this purely legal question before ballots are printed and the 2026
election proceeds. The material facts are a matter of public record and are
not in genuine dispute. What remains is a question of law: the meaning of
Charter Section 3-102 as applied to an undisputed factual record. Plaintiff
intends to move for summary judgment promptly following Defendants’
appearance in this action.

Will Waters Appeal?

There are obviously questions whether the Chair of the City Council set up the Eligibility question for his own personal gain. Chair Waters himself told the public he was testing the waters.

The pressure on an ACTING City Clerk Kadota to make the decision as to whether Waters is eligible or not for a Third Term must be tremendous because it’s the Honolulu City Council who does the hiring of this clerk position.

It doesn’t help Waters as his biggest action as the City Council Chair was to prevent a public vote for the public relating to the 64% salary increase for the Council in 2023. After the intransigent approval, the city council Chair Waters, Esther Kia’aina, and others proceeded to adopt a charter question to remove themselves from making decisions on salary increases. Instead the responsibility to approve salary raises now falls on the Honolulu Salary Commission appointed by the City Council and Mayor. As of today, the cumulative salary increase has been 86%.

Chair Waters is also known for his inconsistent management of time limit for Public Testimony at Honolulu Hale. Some testifiers are allowed to have more than ample time while he cuts off others.